


A Fire Hotter than Any Dragon's

by Longlivemyword



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Anxiety, Café, F/F, F/M, M/M, Romance, flower shop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-19 20:08:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 30,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4759361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Longlivemyword/pseuds/Longlivemyword
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a dragon is hardwork, especially being a shapeshifting one with no memory of your past and people constantly getting the way of obtaining those memories. Distractions are always great, especially in the form on an adorable redhead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Yellow Roses

Chapter one: Yellow Roses

 

"How much control do you have over your body temperature? I know that your kin sometimes have a hard time doing so, especially so young," commented the older woman as she self down her scissors on the counter.

"I'm able to control it well," I answered quietly, eyes unable to stay in one place for more than a few seconds.

"Good! How about you start off by going outside and watering the flowers? That will help you get to know where they are in case I need more. As you saw when you came in, I like to grow my own flowers. Quality control of sorts," she explained as she wrapped a small bouquet of about ten tiger lilies in a bright green plastic with a simplistic symbol, probably a sort of trademark.

I glanced around the room before spotting the green plastic watering can and taking it. I don't remember ever having had seen so many flowers in one place, but I can certainly say it's enjoyable, calming almost. After filling the watering can, I set out outside, however didn't get very far before my new boss came out and handed me something folded up.

"That's a pretty outfit and it'd be a shame if you dirtied it," she said, a smile on her face.

I looked down at it quietly before setting the cat down and unfolding it to play it out. It was a Christmas green apron that had "Avelyn" bejeweled in purple gems on the front pocket. I slipped it on with a small smile and thanked her quietly.

"No big deal, my dear! Come find me when you're done," she said happily, turning and going back inside.

Mrs. Sprout was a bit of a plump, cheerful woman that seemed quite content to go about the rest of her days tending to her somewhat small flower shop. I was certain that the area she used to grow the flowers was at least five, maybe six times the size of the actual shop itself, which included the front end, a small back room and an employee bathroom. As far as I knew, I was the only other employee. Mrs. Sprout seemed nice enough and we were in the more quaint part of town, with a café across the road that was called "Weasley's Second Home". It wasn't exactly bustling, however it wasn't dead, either. I almost got distracted again, again. This time by a man cashiering at the café. He had bright ginger hair that was starting to become a little shaggy. He also ha a few burn scars that grabbed my curiosity and he almost looked familiar. Shaking my head, I went over and started to water some tiger lilies. So many colors; I'd forgotten How many colors there actually were.

Two years ago was a blur, however the span from then to now became clearer and clearer I thought about it. During that span I was at a safe house guarded by the Ministry of Magic. There I was taught simple, though necessary life skills. I don't remember anything previous, though I'm told I'm approximately three hundred fourteen years, I'm an ice dragon, though my birth place and parents are unknown, and my life was too traumatic to remember, so apparently they erased my memories. My curiosity had gotten the better of me several times and during my rehabilitation I had a lot of free time, so I would sit in the safe house for hours on end, wracking my brain for just a glimpse of memory. Most of the time, my efforts were fruitless, though I found that my nightmares proved a good source, because when I talked to my teacher, Remus Lupin about them, he just gave me a concerned look and told me to dismiss them. How could anyone? They were always so... violent.

"My dear? Lost in thought, are we?"

I looked over quickly at Mrs. Sprout, who just smiled fondly at me.

"Sorry," I murmured, going over and watering the next bunch of flowers: yellow roses.

"You're all right. I just wanted to show you how to use the register so that I can run to the bank," she explained.

I nodded and followed her back inside. After a quick tutorial and the introduction of the price chart, she informed me that she'd be back in a short while. Glancing around the shop, I felt a sudden sense or worry and anxiety. I stood there at the counter for a good ten minutes of nothing before finally deciding to do something a little bit more productive and went about, watering the various flowers in the shop itself. A skylight lit the small area up brightly and made it somewhat comforting. The bell rang an I turned to see Remus walk in. He grinned upon seeing me in turn and went over.

"Avelyn, how are you? Promona giving you plenty to do?" 

I nodded. "She left to do something at the bank," I murmured quietly.

He paused for a second, before exclaiming, "Goodness! She must trust you a lot. I hope she taught you how to use the register?" he inquired, glancing around the shop.

I nodded yet again. "Yeah, but she gave me a cheat sheet, just in case."

"Good, good, always has a plan, that one," he chuckled, going over to look at the pre-packaged roses. "How about you ring me up a dozen of these?"

I nodded in compliance and did just that. "For Tonks?"

"But of course!" he laughed. "She's been promoted and I wanted to get her something special."

I offered him a small smile. I enjoyed listening to Remus talk about his relationship with Tonks; distracted me from unpleasant thoughts.

"During your lunch break, I'll stop by again to introduce you to the family-owned café across the street. I know that Promona goes there to get something to eat," he explained.

"Sounds good," I agreed. "Say hi to Tonks for me," I murmured.

"Will do! Oh, looks like you have another customer. Good luck," he murmured, grabbing the roses and leaving, though held open the door for a woman with fiery red hair. She said thank you before coming in.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" I asked quietly, watching her just look around.

"Just looking for something to give my husband. It's out anniversary," she beamed.

I thought for a moment before going over and picking up a bouquet of yellow roses.

"Yellow roses are said to mean friendship and joy," I murmured.

"Huh, never knew that! Sounds good! He's is my best friend, after all!" she laughed, purchasing the bouquet.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy them," I commented with a small smile. "Have a good day."

"You, too," she said happily, giving a small wave and left.

Huh, this wasn't so hard. Well, hopefully no one asks for a specially made bouquet. After a few more minutes of silence, I went back to watering the flowers. This was definitely a peaceful job and I figured I could get the hand of it soon enough. By lunch time, when Mrs. Sprout came back. I'd only had six more customers, none of them needing me to make a bouquet, so I was happy. I had tidied up the shop, too, and memorized the price chart well enough.

"Sorry for taking so long, Avelyn. The line at the bank was so long, then they messed up my request and oh... anyways, how about we clock out and go to lunch, hmm? Neville should be here any minute. That boy... he's still in school, however he finished a lot of his classes earlier on, so he's able to leave early and come right here."

So I wasn't the only employee. I was looking forward to meeting him.


	2. Anthurium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the gang

Chapter two: Anthurium

 

"Neville! How was school today?" Mrs. Sprout inquired, pulling him into a light hug.

"It was good," he answered, lightly hugging her back and offering a small smile.

"Good? Did you see Luna?" she asked almost teasingly.

This Luna was apparently significant to him because his face turned bright pink and he nodded quickly.

"She asked me to help tutor her," he admitted sheepishly, but then paused and blinked when he noticed me.

Neville was a little on the chunkier side of the spectrum, though that certainly didn't mean he wasn't attractive. In fact, he was cute in a nice, quirky sort of way. 

"Who's this?"

"This is Avelyn and she's the newest addition to our little family. Avelyn, this is Neville, my nerdiest friend," she teased lightly. 

I gave a small wave and he reciprocated my movement.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Avelyn. You'll see it's really fun working here," he added, offering up a small grin.

I simply nodded.

"Are you guys headed off to lunch?" he asked, looking over at Mrs. Sprout.

She nodded. "We'll be back in an hour, don't worry. Are you ready, Avelyn? You can take off your apron if you want. There are hooks in the back. Go on, I'll wait."

I nodded quietly again and went off, untying my apron as I went. There were exactly three hooks, all with name tags above them, including my own. I smiled a little bit and hung up my apron before quickly going back out, straightening my shirt.

"All right! Let's get a move on then," she said happily, turning and leaving.

I waved a little bit towards Neville who just offered me a small smile as I left. The café was a mixture of browns, reds and oranges. It had a very warm, homey feeling to it and I felt like I could be there for hours. The redhead was still cashiering and I followed closely behind Mrs. Sprout as she went up to the counter and grinned widely at the cashier. Now that he was closer, I could definitely tell that those were dragon scars. Not many people are comfortable being up close and personal with dragons, even shapeshifter dragons, but maybe he wouldn't mind knowing what I am. Unless he held some sort of grudge against us.

"Sweetie? Still with is?"

I blinked a few times and looked over at Mrs. Sprout finally. I was suddenly aware that I had been starting at the cashier, apparently named Charlie because of his name tag, this entire time.

"I... what?"

"What do you want for lunch?"

"I... just water," I mumbled, eyes cast down to the floor.

"Are you sure? You must be starving," she murmured worriedly.

I just shook my head quickly.

"I'm good," I mumbled.

"All right, all right," she sighed. "By the way, Avelyn, this is Charlie Weasley. He's the second eldest son of the owners of this shop," she explained. "That over there is Ron, the youngest son."

I nodded quietly, not looking at Charlie again, even when he handed me my water.

"Nice to meet you," I mumbled.

"Good to meet you, too! I hope to see you a whole lot more around here," he said, grinning widely.

I just quickly followed Mrs. Sprout over to a table with three other teenagers with books, drinks and food all over the table.

"Hello, Harry, Hermione and Ginny!" she happily greeted.

"Hello!" a girl with voluminous brown hair and awkward teeth greeted eagerly.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Sprout," greeted a boy with messy black hair and glasses.

"What are you kids doing out of school?"

"Mrs. Sprout... It's Sunday," Ginny mumbled quietly. Like Charlie and Ron, she also had fiery red hair and cute freckles.

"It is! My word! That's right! I told you to come in on Sunday."

I quietly nodded.

"Er, who's this?" the boy with the glasses inquired. 

"Ah, yes, this is Avelyn. She's working at my shop now," she explained.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Avelyn. My name is Hermione Granger," she introduced herself, holding out her hand.

I tentatively shook her hand. True that when I'm nervous, my control over my body temperature becomes lax and she was probably a little surprised at how cold my hand was.

"I'm Ginny Weasley," she mumbled quietly.

"Molly's only daughter and the baby of the family," Mrs. Sprout gushed.

"And this is Harry Potter," Hermione piped up.

I just nodded. "Nice to meet you all."

Everyone paused.

"have you ever heard of him? Harry Potter?" Mrs. Sprout inquired.

"No? Why? Should I have?" I asked quickly, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh thank god," Harry murmured, relaxing.

I looked between them all, though Mrs. Sprout simply shook her head and we sat down at a table by the kids. Not long afterwards, Remus and Tonks came in to the café and I perked up upon noticing them.

"Ah, Avelyn, Pomona!' Thought we might find you here," Remus said as he and Tonks made their way over.

"Hiya, Ava!" Tonks greeted happily.

I gave a small wave, sipping my water.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.

I shook my head, biting my lip in nervousness. Tonks and Remus glanced at each other, both clearly concerned.

"Well, why don't you come over for dinner and you can tell us and Teddy all about your day?" Tonks suggested.

As much as I enjoyed seeing Teddy, I didn't think I should anymore. What if I hurt him? Tonks and Remus would never forgive me. I'd never forgive myself. The thought made me panic and I shrunk into myself a little bit. They much have noticed, for a moment later and I had the scent of an Iris flower in my nose and I looked up to see Remus holding out my favorite lotion. I gratefully took it and poured a little bit on my hands. Remus just offered me a smile as I rubbed it into my skin.

"How about we just bring you a little something? I'm sure you actually want to spent a night in your own home? We do love having you over, though. You're a great baby sitter."

"If I had my way, you'd be moving in with us. I'd love a twenty-four/seven babysitter," Tonks teased.

"You're good with kids? Think you'll have any of your own?" Mrs. Sprout inquired.

I just shrugged. Would I? I didn't know any other shapeshifters. Can I even be with a human? Is that allowed amongst my kind? Do they care? Maybe I'll never know.

"Well, she has to find someone first," Remus pointed out.

"Nuh uh. Maybe she doesn't wanna date? Honey, you can have a baby and not be with anyone. It's harder, but you're so good at multi-tasking, I bet you'd do great," Tonks said, grinning encouragingly.

I just nodded again. Did I want to be with anyone? I didn't really think anyone other than another shapeshifter would be interested in me, but maybe... I glanced over at Charlie, who was singing into a pen and dancing around Ron, who looked absolutely annoyed. I caught myself smiling at the scene and unfortunately, so did Tonks.

"Into redheads, are we?" she said teasingly, prodding my arm.

I looked quickly back down at my hands and just shrugged again.

"I think you're ready for a date," she decided.

I just quickly shook my head, clutching my bottle of lotion. Remus murmured something to Tonks and she quietly apologized.

"Anyways, we'll be by around six, okay? Have fun at work!" she said happily, patting my back before leaving.

Mrs. Sprout chuckled lightly. "That pair really is something, hmm?"

I just nodded, letting out a long breath.

The rest of my work day went smoothly. After watering the rest of the flowers, Mrs. Sprout had Neville teach me how to clip, trim and package flowers.

"Prom is coming up soon, so I suspect we'll be getting orders for corsages and boutonnieres soon," he murmured quietly.

"Prom?"

"You never had a prom? Well, it's supposed to be a special senior dance. Ya know, making memories in flashy dresses and matching suits?"

"Are you... a senior?"

"Yeah... and I kinda wanna ask this girl, but I don't know If she'll say yes," he sighed lightly.

"That would require being psychic..." I mumbled absentmindedly. "So... you'll never knw unless you try."

"Hmm, good point... Thanks, Avelyn."

I simply nodded.

True to their word, Tonks and Remus stopped by around six, two hours after I got home. They said they couldn't stay long, but that they wanted a detailed telling of my first day tomorrow at lunch. I nodded and watched them go, warm plastic container in my hands. I quietly put it in my fridge and flopped back on my couch. I was so exhausted, I fell asleep with a book in my lap on my couch. What a long day.


	3. Purple Carnations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who needs shopping when you can just hold babies?

Chapter three: Purple Carnations

 

Mrs. Sprout had somewhat odd hours for her store, though which how much yesterday sapped out of me, I wasn't complaining. The store closed on Mondays and according to the paper schedule, I had Thursdays off. I'm sure she did that to give me a break in the middle of the week. I was also sure that Remus had told her how tired I became being around people for too long. Since the Shop was closed today, I was stuck at home, unsure of what to do with myself.

Having had woken up on the couch, my back was a little sore, though that didn't stop me from going on a five-mile run. I liked running; let me just lose myself. Five, however, turned into ten and suddenly I found myself collapsed in front of the café at seventeen miles. Why was I here? I laid there for only a few minutes before having someone come outside and kneel down beside me.

"Hey, Avelyn! You okay?" exclaimed a familiar voice.

I slowly nodded and looked up to see Charlie looking back down at me with concern.

"Come on inside for something to eat and drink. You look like you ran a marathon," he commented, gently taking my arm and slowly helping me to stand and leading me inside.

"What were you doing, anyways?" he mumbled, sitting me at a table.

"Running," I murmured quietly, slowly coming down from the adrenaline high.

"For how long?" he asked worriedly.

"I... don't know. I think fifteen miles?"

"Avelyn... Let me get you something to drink and eat," he sighed quietly, turning and going back to the counter.

Taking my chance, I slipped out the shop and started my way back home. My legs were numb from the pain and my mouth was rather dry, but I just wanted to get home. I don't do well in the heat, even though I have an internal cooling system. Why? The heat breaks my internal cooling system. No matter the type, all dragons have at least one fire sack in them. Sometimes it depends on the age, but most of the time it's just breed type. Ice dragons have two, but we have a filter at the bottom of our esophagus. I won't get into the details, because I don't know everything, but all I know is that heat swells my fire sacks and causes my internal heating to increase dramatically. I'm usually able to blow soft vapors of icy air around to cool myself off, but I was out in the open and Remus said that there were a lot of muggles in this area. So I had to make the long trek home while trying not to collapse again.

Once I finally arrived home, I blew stronger vapors than I meant to and allowed myself to lay in a small puddle of ice on the floor. Once I felt myself cool down, I slowly stood and made my way to the fridge. Right when I tried to take my first bite of the spaghetti Tonks and Remus brought me, there was a knock from my front door. I looked up and hesitated, but finally set it down on my small table and opened the door.

"Oh thank the stars, you're okay," Remus murmured, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Hi..." I mumbled.

"What happened? Charlie called me and I rushed right over here. Why is the floor wet?"

"I went running and... I ran too much."

"You ran all the way to the café?" he inquired incredulously.

"Yes."

Remus stared at me for a minute or two, before just shaking his head. He glanced over at the container on the table.

"You didn't eat dinner?"

"I'm eating it now," I mumbled quietly, turning to sit back down at the table.

Remus let out a light sigh.

"Well, you can finish it later. How about you come to a picnic with Tonks, Teddy and a few others, hm?"

"A few others?" I grumbled, looking up at him with uncertainty.

"You'll be fine, just go take a shower and change into something nice, hm? I'll clean up this water," he offered.

"The water's gone," I pointed out, but went to do as I was told.

My shower was ice cold and I loved it. I was still a little hot from earlier, but my stomach growling intensely as it was was causing me to reluctantly make it quick. I slipped into my room, wrapped in a towel, passed Remus in the kitchen and into my closet. This apartment was apparently called a studio apartment and was fairly small, though it was nice and cozy. Something nice to wear? I frowned quietly before finally deciding on a simple outfit of jeans and a white t-shirt.

"All ready?" he inquired, offering a small smile.

I nodded, slipping on some sandals. After walking for a few minutes, I looked around.

"Where are we going?"

"To the village, why?"

"Odd place to have a picnic," I mumbled, putting my hands in my pockets.

"Oh, we're not having the picnic there. We're have it at the beach," he chuckled. "We're going to the village to get you a bathing suit."

I looked up at him, frowning. "I haven't gotten my first pay check yet," I mumbled. 

"Bah, you can pay us back," he murmured.

I just heaved a deep breath and nodded. A bathing suit, huh? Remus had tried to take me to the beach before, but I overheated and passed out. I spent another two days in the hospital where I wouldn't talk to anyone. I hated the hospital and I hated that Remus had to take me there, knowing how much I hated the hospital. We both know better now to spend more time in the water than the sand, though I was still apprehensive about going. It probably didn't help that I had been wearing a sweatshirt, a long-sleeved shirt, jeans and boots that day, but it wasn't just over heating. It was the people.

Upon arriving at the shop, Tonks, Teddy, Hermione and Ginny were already there. Tonks was modeling off a neon red bikini that had laces going down the front.

"Looks nice," Remus murmured, coming up behind her and kissing her cheek.

"Thanks," she grinned. "Oh! And you even managed to get Ava here!" 

I went straight over to the baby carrier containing a fussy Teddy and gently picked him up, lightly rocking him. Tonks just laughed.

"That's okay. You spend some time with Teddy and we'll find something for Hermione and Ginny."

I sat quietly on the floor with Teddy in my arms and watched as both of the girls tried on different bathing suits. Remus went off to do something else, though I didn't hear what. Eventually, Hermione decided on a sunset orange one piece with a small yellow sun on the belly and an open back. Finny picked a shamrock green one piece with two circle shaped holes missing on the sides.

"Okay, Ava! You're turn! I found some ones I thought you might like."

She held up several suits that didn't look very appealing, but then Hermione showed me a royal purple two piece with gold flecks around the whole suit. I pointed to that one and once we found my size, went off to the beach.

"Ginny, your mom's making the food, right?" Hermione inquired.

Ginny nodded. "She's all excited about Harry asking me to prom and with her and dad's anniversary yesterday, she wanted to do something fun."

"Ugh, lucky. I still haven't found a date," Hermione grumbled.

Ginny shrugged, seeming like she was holding something back.

"Is anyone at the café?" Tonks inquired.

I readjusted Teddy so that I could fix his hat to keep the fun off his face.

"Nope, not even Percy could escape mom's picnic," she laughed.

Tonks and Hermione also laughed, but I just readjusted Teddy again so that I could fix his pants. Don't get me wrong, I love this baby to death, but man was he fussy. Soon enough, we arrived at the beach where it was surprisingly empty aside from our group. I recognized Ron and Harry already swimming in the water. Tonks, Hermione and Ginny went into the changing rooms while I held Teddy and once they came out, I reluctantly gave him up to Tonks and went into the changing room. I felt a little weird in the revealing clothes and quietly traced a few of my most obvious scars with annoyance. I noticed that scars weren't exactly normal, at least at such an extensive amount. Remus and Tonks had both seen me completely exposed, and yet they still thought it was a good idea to go out in public wearing such an outfit. Shrugging it off, I slipped out of the changing room, my other clothes tucked close to my chest as I went over to where Hermione was tucking her own clothes in a large bag.

"Oh, Avelyn, you startled me. That looks so good on you!" she added upon fully seeing me in my bathing suit.

"Thank you" I mumbled quietly, uncomfortably fixing the top to better cover ym breasts, but even then they were still showing to some high degree. Why would anyone wear this? Why did I pick this?

"Here, you can put your clothes in here," Hermione murmured, holding open the bag as I slid my clothes in.

Glancing over, I noticed Ginny suddenly on Harry's shoulders, laughing loudly as Harry tried to keep his balance, only to lose it and fall over, of course bringing Ginny with him. Hermione gave a small laugh as she finished putting on some sort of white crème, rubbing it into her skin, then handed me the bottle.

"You're really pale, so you must burn easily," she said as I slowly took the bottle.

Sun... screen?

"Want me to help you with that?"


	4. Sunflower

Chapter four: Sunflower

 

I turned to see Charlie standing there in black swim trunks, lined with green. He has his shaggy hair moved back out of his face and though he just arrived, he was a bit sweaty. 

"I... sure," I mumbled, handing him the body.

"Cool. Just sit down and relax," he murmured, opening the bottle and squirting some on his hand and setting the bottle down.

I quietly sat cross-legged on one of the towels and braced for him. The lotion was cool and actually felt rather nice. I wasn't sure what it meant to sun burn still, though this sunscreen cooled my skin easily. Charlie's hands were someone what rough and even they felt good on my back. I watched Tonks playing with Teddy in the shallows, gently dipping his felt in and out. I smiled fondly at them as Charlie continued putting more lotion on my arms and shoulders. 

"You like children?" he inquired after a moment. 

"They're... nice. Some are. Teddy is," I mumbled with a small shrug. "Do you?"

"Eh, I guess. Teddy is a good example of cute, nice babies, but I've seen some pretty nasty ones," he replied giving a light laugh.

I nodded in agreement. After a little longer, he came around front and gently rubbed some onto my cheeks and forehead. I looked down at his burn with admitted curiosity.

He must have noticed, for he murmured, "I study dragons in Romania from time to time. I've had my fair share of close calls."

"Do you... like dragons?" I inquired softly, watching him pour some more lotion on my legs and rub it in.

"Of course! I think they're very misunderstood and majestic creatures. I enjoy studying them as much as possible," he responded, offering me a grin, green eyes sparkling.

I paused. "What about shapeshifting dragons?"

"Shapeshifting? I haven't had much experience with that kind, though I heard they prefer isolation and don't much care for humans," he sighed, "I wish I could get one to agree to talk to me, though. All information is valuable."

I watched him for a little bit longer. Should I tell him? Is he lying? What if he was simply saying these things to lure me into a false sense of security. Maybe he really just wanted to kill me. I started when a green hair tie was put in my face. Charlie quirked a playful eyebrow. I tentatively took it and put up my hair in a loose pony-tail.

"Thank you," I murmured quietly.

"No problem! You look amazing with your hair pulled back, you know," he commented.

I paused, but then just awkwardly looked down.

"Hey, come on. You like swimming? Good! Then let's go swim," he suggested, standing and offering his hand.

I looked up at it with uncertainty, but then took it and allowed him to lead me into the water. It felt amazing on my hot feet after treading across the sand. I turned to say something to Charlie, but it seemed as though he'd disappeared. I frowned a little and waded more into the water, towards the other four, but suddenly Charlie popped up in front of me. I jumped back and being unable to find my footing after wards, fell into the water. Coming back up quickly, I sputtered out the water that had entered my mouth, throat burning from the small amount that I couldn't quite catch.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Avelyn!" Charlie exclaimed, looking me over.

I glared at him for a few seconds before abruptly splashing him. He paused, but then just laughed and splashed me back. We continued playing in the water, Remus and Bill showing up a little bit later. We played Marco Polo, and chicken and even though the names made little to no sense to me, they were a lot of fun. It wasn't until three more red-headed people arrived that I even remembered that we were having a picnic.

We all climbed out of the water and dried off with various towels.

"Everything ready?" Remus asked a tall red-headed man that I could only assume was the Weasley father.

"Yup! Oh! And this must be Avelyn! It's good to meet you, my name is Arthur Weasley and almost all of these kids are mine," he chuckled, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I quietly complied and murmured a small greeting. I blinked a few times when I saw the same red-headed woman from before.

"And I'm Molly Weasley. We've met before, haven't we, dearie?"

I shook her hand as well and nodded.

"Ava here works in Pomona's flower shop now," Remus commented, unpacking several items from the van and laying them on the top picnic tables that were pushed together.

"Of course! I bought flowers from you the other day," Molly commented.

I nodded in confirmation. "Yellow roses."

"For friendship and joy," she finished, lovingly, giving Arthur a peck on the cheek before helping Remus.

Arthur put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a thumbs up, before also helping to unload.

Once everything was unpacked and set out on the table, we took out seats. Charlie plopped himself next to me as Remus, Tonks and Teddy sat across from me.

"So how are you liking the flower shop so far?" Hermione asked as everyone started eating.

I offered a small shrug, nothing on my plate.

"I've only worked yesterday, though it's nice... quiet, I murmured.

Neville nodded in agreement. "It is quiet, but sometimes it can get busy, especially around the holidays."

"Well, save holidays like today," Hermione pointed out. "It's Easter vacation."

Ron nodded. "Gotta love a week holiday," he mumbled. 

"This is Percy, by the way, Avelyn," Charlie informed me, looking at the somewhat scrawny redhead. I nodded slowly, starting to feel a little bit warm.

"So, where do you come from, Avelyn? I've never seen you around here before," Arthur commented, eating some chicken.

I simply shrugged. "I don't know."

"We've... had to erase Avelyn's memories for her own good," Remus quietly added, drinking some water.

"Oh? Well, that's unfortunate," Molly said softly, eyebrows furrowed up in concern.

"How old are you?" Ginny inquired, looking at me with wide eyes, sitting next to Harry, towards the end of the two tables.

"Three-hundred and fourteen years," I mumbled shifting quietly.

"Really?! H-how?" George exclaimed, leaning back with his twin to stare at me.

I looked at Remus, unsure of what to say now. I honestly didn't mean to say that; I was told to say I was twenty-six if asked, but my age was one of the only things I was allowed to remember and it made me happy, so sometimes I don't remember the rule. Remus just sighed.

"She's a shapeshifter," he informed the group. They're heavily hunted by magical folk, so we've been trying to keep it a secret, but the cat's out of the bad now."

"Sorry," I mumbled uncomfortably, shoulders hunching as I lowered my gaze.

"No, no, it's okay. I was going to tell the others eventually, but Molly, Arthur, Bill and Charlie already know," he explained.

I snapped my head up and looked at Charlie in surprise. He gave a sheepish grin and an apologetic look.

"Sorry, but I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I was hoping you'd tell me first," Charlie explained quietly, rubbing the back of his head.

"So you can shapeshift into anything," Harry asked.

"No. Just a dragon," I answered, finally tearing my gaze away from Charlie.

"Just a dragon, she says," Fred snorted. "because so many people can do that."

"What kind of dragon?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Ice," I replied.

"So I've been reading up on dragons in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and it says that Ice dragons have a filter in their esophagus that allows you to breathe ice because you don't have an ice sack, you have a fire sack like the others! Is that true?" she asked in one breath.

I paused, trying to put together everything she said.

"I... yes on the filter, but I have two fire sacks," I responded.

"What?! Where?" she exclaimed.

I glanced down when Remus placed some macaroni salad on my plate, but looked at Hermione again.

"I have one next to my heart and another where my appendix should be," I murmured.

"Wow... Somebody should tell the author," she murmured.

"I'm not sure if it's the same for other dragons," I admitted.

"Yeah, shapeshifting dragon and dragons have somewhat different anatomy," Charlie piped up. "Though, because shapeshifting dragons are being hunted, they're hiding extra hard and we already have little to no information on them," he sighed softly.

"But, now that Avelyn is here, can't you find out a little bit more about her kind?" Ron pointed out.

"Only with her and Remus's approval," he responded with a small shrug.

"Why do you need Remus's approval," he responded with a small shrug.

"Because I'm her lawyer, basically and there are some things that she still doesn't understand. Like what if someone other than Charlie claimed to know him and be apart of Charlie's study group and asked her to go with them to do testing?" he offered.

Hermione still didn't seem too happy, but finally agree. Several questions and a good hour later, we were back in the water. I was happily swimming around with the others while Molly, Tonks and Teddy were on the sand, apparently sunbathing, though the baby was under an umbrella. In the midst of playing Marco Polo again, I looked on the beach by the picnic tales where we had lunch and froze. Literally, there was ice all around me now. My heart was beating a hundred beats an hour.


	5. Blue Roses

Chapter five: Blue roses

"What the?!"

The shouting snapped me out of my hypnotic state and I quickly looked around to see that I had frozen a good five feet in diameter of water. I quickly broke up the ice while Charlie and Remus made their way over.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Remus asked quickly as we all got out of the water.

I hurriedly looked around for the man I'd seen before hand and growled in frustration upon being unable to find him.

"Avelyn? What's going on?" Charlie asked quickly.

"Nothing," I mumbled and frowned over at the others. "My apologies, I was startled," I said quietly.

"It's okay, Ginny wanted to do a sand castle building contest," Harry informed me. "You wanna join?"

I scanned the parking lot one last time, before nodding and joining them for another half an hour of building what could loosely be called sand castles. I helped Charlie build a dragon, somewhat. I worked on the tail and most of the spikes, but we both ended up getting distracted by several crabs settling themselves on my lap. I honestly didn't mind them being there, but then one tried to climb it's way into my bikini bottom. I gently picked it up and set it down on the sand. Charlie only laughed and said that they can get rascally. I just shrugged and by the time we finished, the others had built a six foot tall Hogwarts, complete with a few enchanted origami people on sticks, flying around. I watched them curiously, eyes wide with wonder. I didn't know hot to use magic, apparently wasn't allowed to even hold a wand, which I thought was ridiculous.

Once we were all packed and ready to go, we changed into our normal clothes, which I was grateful for.

"Ah, you got pretty burned today, Ron. Didn't you put on ant sunscreen?" Hermione fussed, turning his head this way and that to check on the sunburns.

"Ugh no, I forgot," he grumbled, wincing as he got into the car.

"I know a potion that'll help with that," Hermione murmured, trying to be gentle.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Charlie asked me after everything was packed up into the car.

I reluctantly handed Teddy back to Tonks and gave a small nod.

"Yes please, thank you," I murmured quietly.

"We'll bring you something over for dinner, Ava," Tonks said, planting a small kiss on the top of my head.

I nodded hesitantly and started off with Charlie towards my home. The silence was heavy and a tad uncomfortable, but at the same time comforting. I liked just walking with him in silence, though I could feel that he wasn't used to silence of any kind. Coming from such a large family, I wasn't too surprised. Maybe I should say something.

"So did you have a good day?" Charlie asked, a bit suddenly.

"I paused, but then smiled.

"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing. I... had fun," I answered quietly, glancing over at him.

"You did? Good! Good! You did seem like you were having a good time, but I wanted to make sure," he told me with a small shrug. "How's work?"

"You didn't tell me how your day was," I pointed out quietly.

"Oh, sorry! I had a wonderful time! I really enjoyed spending time with you," he added happily, offering a wide grin.

I offered a smile in return. "Thank you... And I enjoy the flower shop and Mrs. Sprout and Neville. They're very nice. As is your family. I enjoy being around them."

"Good! I know there's a lot of us an we can be a bit rowdy at times, but each and every one of them has a kind heart. I hope to have a big family one day," he added fondly, "But I have a while for that."

"Remus says that you have to have a partner for that," I mumbled. "Tonks said you don't. I don't understand."

"You... don't? Do you know how...?"

"Of course I know how," I mumbled, cheeks turning pink. "I just... I don't know. It doesn't seem all too pleasant."

"Well, it's not for everyone," he pointed out. "Some people, asexuals, just don't care for it."

"I've never had it, so I wouldn't know," I grumbled.

"And some people never do. They just know it's not something they're into," he responded. "If it happens for you, let's hope you enjoy it."

"What about you? Have you...?"

"Honestly? Yes. Well, I had a close call at one point, but it wasn't really... She just wasn't the one I wanted to give myself to," he sighed, "but there's just no reason to rush into it if you're not ready. I feel like it's entirely a personal choice. You want to sleep with twenty people before you graduate high school? By all means, go on ahead. Want to save yourself for that special someone, even if it means it doesn't happen until you're thirty, or it just doesn't happen? It's your choice. Sorry, I feel like I'm rambling," he murmured quietly.

"No, no, I enjoy listening to you talk," I blurted out.

"I... Thank you," he said quietly, soon grinning again.

"Ah, we almost passed it," I said suddenly upon noticing my apartment building.

"This is your home?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I live on the bottom..." I murmured with a shrug.

"Okay, well uh... stop by the café for lunch, yeah?"

"Of course. See you tomorrow," I murmured, offering him another smile.

"Of course! Good night then," he said.

I wasn't really expecting it, but Charlie loosely put his arms around me in the gentlest of hugs. I tensed up at first, but then slowly relaxed and returned the embrace. Charlie soon let go and offered an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I... think of you like a little sister, so hugs are a natural thing," he sputtered quickly, eyes averting.

A... Sister? I just quietly nodded and waved while he left, muttering something under his breath as he went. I quietly shook my head and went inside, putting out my key.

"Er, excuse me, ma'am," someone said, causing me to glance over, then completely looking at the woman at the desk. "These came for you."

I paused upon seeing the bouquet of blue roses. There was nothing on the small card except for "Avelyn", written in cursive. The quotation marks confused me, but I slowly took the crystal vase and mumbled a thank you. Once I slipped into my room and placed the vase down on the table, I stared at the bouquet for several minutes. A shiver of dread went down my body and I just want into my room to change into my pajamas and set out my clothes for the next day. I honestly didn't own many clothes, though I wasn't complaining. I liked the clothes I had and didn't really see the point in owning more than what was necessary.

"Ava, you home?" Tonks called out.

I tossed my dirty clothes into the clothes basket, making a mental note to do laundry tonight, then went out into the main area to see Tonks holding a plastic bag. She was looking curiously at the blue roses.

"I don't know who they're from," I mumbled quietly, walking over.

"What's with the quotation marks?" she inquired in confusion, holding the card.

"I don't know that either."

"Huh. Well, looks like you have a secret admirer either way!" she said excitedly. 

I just shrugged and watched her set out a container of lasagna another of mashed potatoes and even a bottle of iced tea.

"It's still pretty warm, but just be careful when heating it up in the microwave. Don't forget to put a paper towel over the top. Are you out? We can go shopping after work tomorrow."

I shook my head. "I can do it once I get my check," I murmured. 

"Ava, you know we don't mind buying you some essentials. But from the look you're giving me, you want to do it yourself," she said, offering a small smile. "Aw, my baby is growing up," she cooed, pulling me into a tight hug.

"This is my second hug today," I mumbled into her shoulder.

"It is? Who hugged you first?"

"Charlie."

"Oh really?" she murmured, putting me at arms length and quirking an eyebrow.

"He... thinks of me as a sister," I grumbled.

"Oh, well, that's okay, Ava. Can't win 'em all," she murmured, playfully, letting me go.

"Tonks? Do you... well, are there others... like me, out there?" I inquired softly, eyes lowered.

"Well, I'm sure there are! Why do you ask?"

"Just... wouldn't it be better if I were to date one of my own?"

"Well, that's... that can get complicated, Ava, considering that we really don't know where any of them are," she pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But Remus said that I'm from Antarctica," I insisted, looking up at her now.

"But Antarctica is a big place and although I trust in your ability to with stand those temperatures... I don't trust you enough to survive on your own."

"Why not? I can make it, I can!" I exclaimed. "I want to find the people that I really belong with!"

Tonks paused. "We're the people you belong with, Ava. Just... understand that we love you and only want the best for you. Maybe when you're healthier and more capable, you can go, but for right now? You should stay put, Maybe Charlie can help gather information on their whereabouts."

I didn't reply to her, though allowed for one more hug and a small good bye.

Before she could actually leave, I murmured, "Do you know what blue roses symbolize?"

"Hm? No, what?" she inquired, pausing in the door way.

Blue roses don't grow naturally, so they mean 'I can't have you, but I still want you'."

"Really? Huh... makes you wonder who they're from, yeah?"

"I... needed to talk to Remus. Tomorrow. At lunch?"

"Sure thing. Something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"No. Have a good night."

"... Good night."


	6. Yellow Carnations

Chapter six: Yellow Carnations

 

I looked up from the pink roses I was wrapping when I heard the bell chime, notifying me that someone was coming in. Charlie?

"Uh, hey, Ava," he greeted with a small smile. "How are you?"

I paused for a moment. He still had his café apron on, so I figured maybe he was on break. "Good, yourself?"

"I'm doing pretty good, too. On my break, so I thought I'd stop by, maybe buy some flowers?"

"Oh? For whom, if you don't mind my asking," I murmured quietly, tying the pink ribbon.

"For a very special lady, actually, he answered, offering a grin. "I need something that says... 'your beauty is exotic and enchanting'."

"I think we have just the thing," I responded, going over and pricking up a bundle of orchids. "These mean exotic beauty."

"Excellent!" he exclaimed happily, purchasing the bouquet. "I just know she'll love these," he murmured. "Do you have like the little cards? That people write little notes on?"

I nodded and handed him one, as well as a pen. He wrote something on the card, something I couldn't see, and stuck it in the flowers.

"What's your favorite flower?" I inquired suddenly, startling even myself when I realized I'd asked it out loud.

"Well that's a good question, actually. I guess tiger lilies. They're so... dunno... loud, I guess," he laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Why? What're yours?" 

"Irises. I like Irises... So, who's the special girl, anyways?" I murmured quietly.

"Uh my... girlfriend," he sputtered, cheeks burning bright red right after he said it. "Fleur..."

"Fleur?" I repeated even more quietly. "I... see," I murmured. "She's a wonderful woman. You'll make each other happy."

"Uh yeah," he mumbled. "See ya," he said quickly, grabbing the bouquet of orchids and leaving the shop.

Fleur... I met her very briefly about a year ago while I was still in the safe house. She was merely one of many who I was introduced to to get me used to people. She was a bobbly woman who just wanted to dress me up in all different kinds of outfits. She didn't really seem Charlie's type. Then again, what did I really know about Charlie? Maybe he was into bubbly girls. I rubbed my arm and quietly watered the flowers.

 

Lunch time came around and still no sign of Mrs. Sprout, though Neville did come by to take over. I wondered where she was, though the shop wasn't too busy. I sat at the back of the shop again and pulled out a book Remus had brought me: Eragon. Apparently it's part of a series, though I'm already finding it very interesting. Only ten minutes into my lunch break, I started when a cup of tea was placed in front of me on the table. I slowly looked up to see Percy, Charlie's younger brother, standing there. I blinked a few times, before looking back down at the tea.

"It's on the house," he said quietly. "I heard from Remus that Earl Grey is your favorite."

"It is," I confirmed. "I... thank you," I murmured quietly, looking up at him again with a small smile.

He brightened up at that and nodded. "So, how's the shop?"

"Good, actually. Though I haven't seen Mrs. Sprout all day," I admitted quietly, but shrugged, "but the shop has been quiet."

"That's good," he commented. "What are you reading?"

"It's called Eragon. It's about dragons," I answered, perking up.

"Ah yes, you're a shapeshifting dragon," he whispered the last part. "How often do you get to change?" he inquired, sitting down in the chair adjacent to me.

"I haven't... Remus says there are too many muggles. Plus that not even wizards are fond of us, so he fears I may be attacked if I were seen," I mumbled.

"That's because we're not used to being around your kind," he admitted. "You're... intimidating."

"Not really," I snorted. "About as intimidating as a kitten, as Remus puts it."

"Cute as one, too," he murmured, though clearly didn't seem like he meant to say it out loud. "Sorry, I--"

"No, you're okay," I said quickly. "You're okay."

"Really? Good, good... I was kind of hoping we could... go catch a movie sometime?" Did his voice squeak a little bit at the end?

I hesitated. I didn't particularly enjoy movies; found it hard to sit still for so long. But I... I wanted to get to know Charlie's family some more. I found that I wanted to be closer to him, and so if I must sit for two hours to do so, I will. I'm sure a few other of his family members will be there, too, right?"

"Sure."

"Oh, thank you," he breathed. "How about Friday night, at 8?"

"I've... never been to a movie theatre," I admitted.

"Well, we don't have to if you don't want to," he said quickly. "How about my place?"

"Sure... you pick the movie," I murmured."

"Can do! Friday it is!" he said excitedly, standing now.

I nodded quietly and watched him go into the back room. I looked down at the tea and finally decided that it was okay to drink it. I took a small sip and smiled lightly. Perfect; just the way Remus makes it for me. I finished the tea as I read my book for the rest of the lunch period. The rest of the day at work went peacefully and I had a small water fight at the end.

 

Charlie's POV:

 

So freaking stupid. Fleur? My girlfriend? Who in the hell would believe that? Well... No, I don't even think Avelyn bought my stupid lie. Why did I lie? Why couldn't I just tell her the truth? Why couldn't I just tell her that the flowers were for her? I looked down at the card almost mournfully. 'Avelyn'. I couldn't even write it nicely. I'd seen her handwriting, back when she was still in the safe house and it was beautiful. Sloppy, but it accurately suited her. I could never tell her the truth, could I? Because I'm a coward.

"Charlie? You okay? You dozing off or something?" Percy snorted, what's with the flowers?"

"There for your office," I mumbled, stuffing the card in my pocket and handing them to him. "Your office is so ugly."

"Oh, rude," Percy grumbled, though took the flowers back into his small office. "You just wanted to see that Avelyn girl, didn't you?"

"No," I snapped. "I'm just tired of clocking in and looked at that drab office. Liven it up a little, brother."

"Well, if you're not interested in her, I'm going to make my move. Today."

"What? You couldn't even say hi at the picnic, you loser," I snorted, retying my apron.

"Oh shut it," he snapped. "I will talk to her today, I promise."

"Well, then I'd be glad to give you a start to your conversation," I mumbled.

I used to make her tea all the time. Earl Grey with a tablespoon of honey. She loved sweet things and honey especially is something she took to. I promised Percy I would whip it up for her when she got here. Which, wasn't too long later. She entered the shop with a book. I hadn't noticed the prey pencil skirt she was wearing. It looked nice on her, fitting. Showed her curves. I had to shake my head to focus myself again. I made the tea quickly and handed the cup to my little brother. I wanted him walk unsteadily over to her, actually startling her when he sat the cup down. My baby brother had a lot of work to do when it came to wooing someone, but... my heart ached when I watched them talking; seeing her face light up when he asked her something. It took a customer waving a hand in my face to snap me out of it. I served that customer, though I was distracted. I kept glancing over at those two, chatting away. I wanted to rush over when I noticed that she was beginning to look uncomfortable, but I stayed where I was and let them sort it out.

Maybe they did belong together. Maybe. Percy was a good man and even though he needed a little work, he'd know how to treat her. Maybe.


	7. Lilac

Chapter seven: Lilac

 

The rest of the week went by quickly. I haven't been able to see Remus the entire time, though I suppose that was partially my fault; I didn't want to go over in case I was interrupting anything. I spent half of my work hours alone and the rest with Neville wondering where Mrs. Sprout had run off to. The closer Easter came, the more customers came in. I didn't know what his Easter was, but apparently it was important to have flowers. Neville, however, informed me that Valentine's day was much worse, but we were actually passed that, so no need to worry for a while.

Friday came and the work day was over rather quickly. As thankful as I was for that, I was sort of dreading seeing the movie with Percy.

Percy seemed nice and all, but Neville told me that what we were doing was considered a date. And apparently dates were for people who had a mutual interest in each other, which wasn't us. I didn't want to give him the wrong idea, but maybe it won't be too bad if his siblings were there. Especially Charlie. It seems somewhat wrong to me now, but I figured out that I was developing feelings for Charlie. When I confided in Neville, he just said that sometimes people say stupid things when they're nervous, but I was still unsure about the whole thing. A part of me was fighting against that instinct saying it was okay to date a human.

My mind often wandered to the man I'd seen at the beach. Even though I stared at him for so long, I don't really remember anything specific about him. I feared that if I asked anyone about him, they'd shove me back in that safe house again. Two years of that house was enough for me, thank you.

Just as I was cleaning up for closing, I heard the bell ring and I looked over. A tall man entered; having to be over six feet. He had an old feeling to him, but he looked so young, not even close to his forties. He was definitely handsome, a somewhat feminine touch to his being. His eyes were golden and sharp, taking in everything he possibly could before landing on me.

"Good afternoon, madam."

"I-- good afternoon sir," I murmured upon finding my words.

His voice was so familiar.

"I'm looking to buy some flowers for a very special someone today. Do you think you can help me out?" he inquired smoothly, eyes scanning the shop again.

"I'm sure I can," I answered, watching him walk around. Neville was out watering the rest of the flowers. "What is it that you're looking for?"

"Beg pardon if I'm wrong, but you have quite the accent, don't you?" he commented suddenly, catching me off guard.

"Uh well... I suppose..."

"Romanian, no?"

"I don't know," I admitted. 

"You don't know where you grew up?" he asked incredulously.

"I... moved around a lot," I murmured quietly, adjusting my apron.

"I see... All right. I'm looking for something that says 'our love is pure'," he finally said, pausing at the red roses before moving on.

"Uh well, white carnations could do the trick. Or even white irises. Both mean purity," I informed the stranger, watching him closely.

He wore strange clothing. Very formal; like he was trying to showoff. His hair was pitch black and somewhat long, held back with a golden ribbon, tied in a small bow.

"White irises it is then," he decided, going over to the irises. "Oh, but it seems you're out."

"I can go get some more. How many do you want?"

"One. Only one," he replied.

"All right," I murmured calmly, locking the register and taking the key with me as I went outside.

It didn't take me long to find the irises, they stuck out. I found a healthy looking one, clipped it, and made my way back in. When I reentered the shop, he was looking at the ribbon selection.

"Could you tie a gold ribbon on it?" he inquired calmly.

"Sure. Do you want it wrapped?"

"No need," he chuckled, stepping back so that I could cut the ribbon. "You have such beautiful hair, my dear," he said, suddenly rather close to me.

I slipped out of the way, clutching the scissors tightly.

"Avelyn? Could you go take care of the dead flowers? I can finish up here," Neville said, seeming to have suddenly entered the shop.

I nodded and put the scissors and ribbon down, handing the key to Neville as I walked passed him outside, taking a moment to calm down before going to do as I was told. I paused. All of the dead flowers were taken care of. I went back into the shop through the back door and waited in the back room, watching the monitors for the stranger to leave before slowly going up front.

"Sorry, Ava," Neville apologized.

"Why are you apologizing?" I grumbled, pulling my long hair over my shoulder and rubbing my fingers through it.

"I saw him enter the shop. I should have come in sooner, honestly; he gave me the creeps," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"You couldn't have known," I sighed quietly. "How about we just close up shop?"

"Sure thing, Ava."

 

I thought about changing my clothes, but I really didn't see the point. I figured jeans and a t-shirt was okay for any occasion thus far and saw no point in wasting a perfectly good pair f clothes that I could war tomorrow for work. I did, however, decide to brush my teeth again. I don't know what it is about brushing your teeth, but I just find it relaxing. I rinsed off my tooth brush and put it away, but paused when I looked at the mirror. I didn't see me. Well, I did, but not the current me. I saw child me, wearing some sort of gown with expensive looking jewelry on. Someone was brushing out my hair.

The stranger leaned down and murmured, "You have such beautiful hair."

I punched the mirror in a panic, but then just sat there for a short while, bleeding knuckles pressed against the broken glass. When the knock on the door finally processed in my head, I removed my hand, allowing the broken glass to fall into the wink. Not thinking about the mirror, I went and answered the door in somewhat of a daze.

Charlie?

I stared at Charlie for what felt like the longest time.

"Hey, Ava. Percy wanted to come, but I told him it was safer the less people that knew where you lived-- Is that blood? Are you bleeding? Ava, what happened?" Charlie inquired quickly, gently taking my hand.

It felt numb, so I really didn't feel anything but tired.

"I... don't remember," I mumbled, looking down at my hand.

Charlie brought a hand to my forehead and frowned.

"You don't have a fever, but you seem really out of it. Percy will have to wait until tomorrow to have his date,: he decided, slowly leading me over to the couch and sitting me down. "Sit right here for a bit while I go get some medical supplies,' he murmured going off into the bathroom.

I sat silently, looking at my bleeding knuckles. What a familiar pain. When he returned, he regarded me silently for longer than I cared for before sitting next to me and putting my hand on his leg.

"Do you want to take about it?" he murmured gently, taking a bottle of peroxide.

When I said nothing, he dipped a cotton swab in the chemical and said softly, "this is going to hurt."

I continued to sit there in silence and only flinched when he started lightly dabbing my wounds. It stung, though I suppose it still felt pretty numb. I recalled Remus sayin that adrenaline can do that to you. I thought back to when I first arrived at the safe house. The memories were vague and a tad blurry, but I very clearly remember feeling cornered and scared, so I did what I did best and lashed out.

I don't remember how, but I was hurt. I didn't fell the pain. All I felt was the adrenaline rushing through my veins, then blackness. It was later that Remus informed me of the effects of adrenaline.

I tensed when I felt Charlie wrapping my knuckles in the gauze, snapping me out of my thoughts., I watched him, his face, as he worked. He seemed clearly concerned about something. Remus said that it's healthy to voice one's concerns, not keep it boxed in.

"Tell me what's on your mind."

Charlie looked up in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but apparently thought better of it for he just looked back down at my wrapped up hand to tape it.

"I'm worried about you, Avelyn,"he admitted.

"Why?" I inquired softly.

Charlie sat there for a bit longer before gathering the medical supplies and starting for the bathroom. He paused before he could disappear and said, "Because you mean a lot to me."

I watched him turn the corner and I slowly looked down at my hand. Why did I punch the mirror? Why did I have to worry him?

"I have to go tell Percy that you guys can watch your movie tomorrow." Charlie mumbled, suddenly going straight for the door. 

I watched him go with a small amount of confusion and hurt in my heart.


	8. Lillies Of The Valley

Chapter Eight: Lilies of the Valley

 

I sat there on the couch for a good ten minutes, before quietly standing and going into my room, too tired to really deal with dinner. Did I know that man? If I did what was my relationship with him? He made me very uneasy, especially after the whole hair incident. I pulled my hair over my shoulder once again and shuddered. With the strong urge to shower lacing my mind, I did just that.

The shower felt wonderful and I was grateful to wash the day off. I felt bad for not going to Percy's, but Charlie was right to say that I was in no condition to go anywhere, even if he didn't know the real reason. If I could just get a hold of Remus, maybe I could tell him about both events. I suddenly wondered if they were the same man; I had the same feeling of dread when I saw them both. If I did know him, and he knew me, why didn't he say something? Why was he being so... cryptic? Was I not supposed to know him? Was he not supposed to know me? Maybe Remus wouldn't be too mad if I stopped by tomorrow after work.

I started when I heard someone calling out my name. I turned the water off, slipped a towel on and left the bathroom. Only a select few had a key to my apartment, but only after I left the bathroom did I remember I left the door unlocked when Charlie left. However, a pleasant surprise when I realized it was Charlie who entered.

"Oh there you-- Uhm... did I catch you at a bad time?" he inquired, setting a couple of bags on my table.

"No... you came back," I commented, watching him.

"Well, I could tell you seemed pretty down about something and it didn't feel right to leave you alone, so we're having our own movie night," he grinned, pulling out two movies. "I picked up Murder Camp and Puppy House... Wasn't sure which one you'd like," he admitted.

"Both," I said quickly, "Both is fine... I'm going to go dress," I murmured, turning and heading to my room.

Once dressed in comfy pajamas, I went back out to the living room and blinked to see a variety of food spread out on the coffee table.

"All right, so I picked up Cola, Orange and Purple soda. Uhm, I wasn't sure what kind of chocolate you liked so I picked up white, dark and milk. Also, what's movie night without like fifty pounds of popcorn?" he laughed, "Wasn't sure what other kind od candy you liked so woo, a whole freaking bunch," he murmured, rubbing the back of his head.

I smiled a little bit and nodded.

"Thank you, Charlie. You... really went above and beyond, huh?"

He looked up at me and offered a grin.

"How about we do the scary movie first? Always good to end the night off with happy stuff," he pointed out.

"Sure," I agreed, going into the kitchen and grabbing two glasses. I didn't have very many dishes, but I really didn't need many.

When I was back in the living room, Charlie had set up the movie and was in the process of going into the kitchen to make popcorn. This whole thing felt sort of surreal. Here I was, spending time with the one person I really wanted to spend time with. I smiled a little bit when he came back over with the popcorn and watched him as he set everything up.

"Oh, hold on," I said, suddenly thinking of something.

I quickly left the couch and scampered into my room, where I grabbed my blanket as well as the spare from my closet. I handed him the spare before settling down on the couch, tucking my leg under my butt and covering myself with my blanket.

"Oh, good idea! Thanks," he murmured, grinning happily. "Now I heard this is one of the scariest movies in the past decade, so are you ready to get your pants scared off?" he inquired, cocking a playful eyebrow. 

"But I'm not wearing pants," I mumbled, blinking a few times.

Out of reflex, he looked down, but since the blanket was covering my legs, he looked back up at me.

I grinned and removed my blanket, saying, "I'm wearing shorts."

He paused, before just bursting with laughter.

"Nice, nice. You're getting quite the sense of humor, huh?" he chuckled, shaking his head.

"Good to know," I laughed.

 

The movie was indeed scary, making me jump a few times. Charlie, however, found the movie far scarier than I did. He jumped at the smallest sounds and actually yelled when the killer suddenly murdered the couple having sex. It was actually amusing watching him throughout the movie. Once it was over, he let out a long breath.

"Holy crap. That was intense, huh?"

I quirked an eyebrow, trying my hardest to suppress a smile.

"Sure. I'm confident that Puppy House will be even more so," I teased, getting up to put the movie in.

"I'm gunna go make more popcorn," he decided, grabbing another packet and heading off to the kitchen.

Once I had the movie set up, I curled back up on the couch. Glancing at the time, I suddenly remembered I had work tomorrow. Oh well. I didn't need to be up until five anyways and it was only ten now. It's not like I get a lot of sleep anyways, to be honest.

"I... wouldn't mind if you slept on the couch tonight, Charlie. It'll be late by the time the movie's over," I pointed out once Charlie came back over.

"That'd be really nice, Ava," he said happily, curling back up under the blanket.

 

By the end of the movie, we were both in tears.

"Oh god I thought this was going to be a funny movie. I didn't think the dog would die!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Well, I was right that it was going to be intense," I mumbled, wiping my face free of tears and stretching my legs.

"You have pretty good intuition," he laughed.

"Comes with the age, I guess," I snorted, standing now. "I have an extra tooth brush if you're interested. And feel free to use the shower or whatever. Just make yourself at home," I rambled, gathering up my blanket.

"Thank you for the hospitality, Ava. Have a good night, okay? And if you want to talk, you know where to find me," he murmured, standing up and slipping his arms around me.

"Thank you, Charlie, for being here for me," I murmured softly, resting my forehead on his shoulder.

"Hey, th-that's what brothers are for, yeah?" he murmured, pulling away a little bit and looking down at me.

"Right, brothers..." I grumbled, looking down now.

"I don't mean to keep you up or anything, but... who gave you those flowers?" he inquired, looking at the bouquet of blue roses when I looked up at him.

"I... don't know, to be honest," I admitted. "My land lady said they just showed up," I continued quietly with a shrug.

"Any card?" he asked, walking over to the vase. "Quite the vase, too."

"It's probably nothing, anyways," I snorted. "Not like I know anyone who-- who would be interested in me like that," I mumbled, starting at the flowers.

"Well, there's my brother, but he's not really the flower-giving kind. He'd give you an enchanted filing cabinet before he gave you anything romantic," he laughed.

"Well that can be romantic in it's own way, especially if it comes from the heart; anyone can buy flowers or chocolates," I pointed out.

"Good... good point," he mumbled, glancing over at me. "Sorry for the interrogation. Good night, Ava."

A hand on the side of my head and suddenly a pair of lips were pressed to my temple. I paused, but looked up at him when he let my head go.

"Another... sister/brother thing?" I mumbled quietly.

"Huh? Oh... yeah," he murmured softly, looking down at me, seeming completely lost in thought.

I found myself slowly moving towards him, eyes starting to close before they snapped open when he stumbled backwards, bumping into the vase, knocking it off the counter. He tried to catch it, but failed miserably. The crystal vase shattered into tiny shards in my kitchen. I paused for a second, before practically tackling him in a hug.

"You're not... mad...?"

"I've been wanting to do that for a while," I admitted. "It scared me..."

"What? Why? Because you don't know who sent it?" he asked worriedly, looking down at me again.

"I... suppose," I mumbled quietly, looking over at the mess in the kitchen, finally letting him go. "I'm gunna clean that up."

"No, no, I should do it; I broke it," he pointed out, moving towards the mess.

"But you'll cut your-- see, you've already cut yourself. Wait here while I go get a broom and the medical kit," I sighed, hurrying off.

I grabbed the broom from the living room, then hurried into the bathroom to grab the med kit. I helped him clean up the mess, then patched him up.

"Thanks. You make a great nurse," he commented, offering me an apologetic grin.

I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Good night, Charlie," I murmured, offering him a small smile in return before heading off to my room.


	9. Rhododendron

Chapter Nine: Rhododendron 

 

I always regret not sleeping, especially after a stressful day, so surprise that I was hating myself when my alarm clock went off at five in the morning and I was still awake, staring up at the ceiling, eyes burning. Begrudgingly, I turned off my alarm and slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes. My body was refusing to work properly, so I stumbled across my small room, bumping into my closet door. I grumbled to myself, angry and tired. Grabbing my clothes, I stumbled into the bathroom. I debated taking a hot shower, but just figured a cold shower might wake me up better. It wasn't until I left the bathroom naked because I forgot my underwear that I remembered Charlie was even here. I froze when I saw his sleeping form on the couch, a bit of belly showing. I blushed a little bit, eyes tracing his barely visible form. 

I managed to find myself and ran into my bed room, grabbed undies and quickly went back into the bathroom. I dressed as fast as I could and slipped on out. I paused for a second, then quickly wrote a small note saying that he was welcome to stay for however long he wanted and to eat and drink what ever he wanted. I thought about how to sign off on it, but just ended up and writing my name, when I finished getting ready for work, I looked at the note again and, after a split second thought, drew a little heart before my name. 

I walked to the shop slowly, considering I had a lot of time because I left earlier than usual. I didn't want to wake Charlie though now that I think of it, I usually read until it's time to go anyways. Whatever.

I looked at the phone that the Ministry of Magic has issued to me. 5:45 a.m. when I arrived at the bus stop. The bus didn't arrive until 6 a.m. and it took fifteen minutes to get to the shop, which needed to be opened to the public at seven. Normally, I popped in early and did what I could to clean and make more bouquets. If there really wasn't much to do, I read.

I didn't like just sitting there, having nothing to do but think. My mind automatically reverted to the stranger; the way he touched my hair and the way he spoke. I involuntarily shuddered at the memory and just sighed. Who the hell was he? Why was he so fixated on me? Did I know him? I shook my head and looked down at my lap. Crap.

Apparently I was so distressed by the memory and the stranger that I'd frozen the puddle at my feet, and even a bit of the bench. I slowly moved to the other side of the bus bench and looked down at my phone again.

5:47.

Really? Maybe I should just walk the rest of the way there. I could probably make it if I ran, but the thought of working all day in sweaty clothes made me stay put.

I was used to being alone in the morning, even on the bus. Not a lot of people took the bus, considering pretty much everything was walking distance. On average, there was maybe three people, including myself and the bus driver.

So you can imagine my surprise when a person came over, from seemingly nowhere, and sat on the other side of the bench. They were wearing a hoodie, so I couldn't see their face. In general, they looked bigger muscle wise and seemed admittedly intimidating. I kept my gaze down after I realized that I was staring at them. I had hoped that they hadn't noticed.

5:55.

Only five more minutes until the bus showed up and what I especially liked that the bus had never been late. 

A movement to my left and I looked up in time to have cloth shoved I my face, then blackness.

 

Charlie's Point of View

 

Laying on the couch, I heard Avelyn's alarm go off, followed by some stumbling and I'm pretty sure she bumped into something. I thought maybe I should go check on her, but then I heard her stumble out into the living room, then into her bathroom. I wondered if she even remembered that I was awake, but I figured I'd lie still, just in case she forgot and came out naked. As tempting as it was to see her naked form, I wanted to save her the embarrassment. I heard her leave the bathroom, pause, then scamper into her room. Figuring that she remembered and went to go dress, I opened my eyes, though ended up seeing her move quickly back into the bathroom, naked. My cheeks burned bright and I just laid back down, closing my eyes.

Once she left, I slowly sat up again and glanced around. Her living room was kind of a mess, so I figured it was only fair that I cleaned up a bit. Once that was done, I read the note and couldn't help but smile at the little heart she drew on the note. I did drink a cup of soda, but then calmly cleaned the dishes. Maybe I could stop by the flower shop today and replace the bouquet.

Irises.

That was her favorite flower, so maybe I'd buy a bouquet of those, but what color? She'd probably deny them if I bought them for her, so maybe I should go with purple and leave her a note.

I thought about the blue roses and quietly took the card. I knew I should probably talk to Remus about this at some point. We'd been warned by people from the Ministry that activity had been going on in Antarctica, supposedly dragons flying to London. We were all worried that, if it wasn't Avelyn's family coming to reclaim her, it was the same people who sold her off into slavery.

She'd seen something that really spooked her at the beach and now the whole mirror thing? Had she seemed something, like a memory? This was concerning behavior, and the only reason I was hesitant about telling Remus was that he'd tell someone else from the Ministry, who'd then throw her in the safe house again.

After cleaning up the rest of the house and taking a quick shower, I glanced a the time. 6:30. Half an hour and the shop would be open. I'm not used to staying up all night, but I was just concerned that she'd want to talk to me and if I was asleep then I very well couldn't. Turned out that I stayed up all night for no reason, so maybe an hour nap wouldn't be too bad.

 

7:36.

Still couldn't sleep.

Something felt wrong.

Shaking it off, I figured that it was an okay time to go by the flower shop. Walking down the street with the bus stop coming into view, I wondered why she left so early. Maybe it was because I was there? Ah geez, I interrupted her morning ritual, didn't I? Way to-- a phone? I arrived at the bus bench and picked up the cracked phone. It wasn't turning on, so I put it in my pocket to have Percy look at it later. I was a little concerned by the fact that it looked like Avelyn's phone.

 

Closed? Why was the shop still closed? Avelyn opened it up every day... I hurried into the café and into the back office.

"Hey, where were you last night? You never came home. Surprised mom wasn't freaking," Percy snorted, looking up from some paperwork.

"Oh... I was at Avelyn's and I told her where I was. Sorry. Can I use the phone?"

"You were at Avelyn's all night?! After you told me that she was sick?" he growled, crossing his arms.

"Somebody had to take care of her. Just let me use the phone, Percy, it's an emergency," I snapped, not really meaning to, but I didn't exactly have time to play this stupid jealousy game.

When he finally just shoved the phone towards me, I dialed Remus's number.

"Remus? It's Charlie. Something's up with Avelyn. That café? Okay. See ya then."

"What's wrong with Ava?" Percy asked worriedly, uncrossing his arms.

"I think she might have been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? Who... when?"

"While she was waiting for the bus this morning. I was actually wondering if you could take a look at this phone placing the broken cellphone on his desk.

"Sure, I'll do what I can," he agreed quickly, taking it immediately and looking it over.

I nodded and went out into the main part of the café. I felt so useless, just sitting and waiting for Remus to show up. What if she was in real danger? What power did I have to help her? There's just no way she left on her on; she would have said something to someone.

Right?


	10. Marigold

Chapter ten: Marigold

 

Why am I so groggy? My head was pounding mercilessly as I slowly, gingerly opened my eyes. Darkness. I blinked my eyes a couple times, unsure if I had actually opened them or just hoped I had. Nope, actually dark. Slowly looking around, I noticed a faint light coming from a different room. Looked like a computer light of some sort.

My body hurt when I tried to sit up and even when I managed to, I bumped my head on something metal. A cage? I was in a small cage of some sort, so small I could hardly even sit up.Why the hell was I in such a tiny cage? So that I couldn't transform and escape? It was certainly hurt to transform and be impaled by all the broken bars. Well, what poor thinking; I can just breath on it and break it in half. I still have the strength of a dragon, after all.

I blew my ice breath on the bars and growled in frustration, Why wasn't the ice collecting on the bars? It was bouncing off some invisible barrier back at me. It didn't really affect me considering that it was my own breath. A magic boundary was the only conclusion that I could come to.

Wonderful.

Panic gripped my chest and I just starting hitting and pulling at the bars the best I could to no avail. My breath raced and quivered, my chest tight.

"M-Mom?" I called out shakily.

 

Charlie's POV

 

"So you found her hone?" Remus inquired, furrowing his eyebrows. "All right I'll have to go call Kingsley," he murmured quietly, going outside to do just that.

"What were you doing by that bus stop anyways, Charlie?" Tonks inquired.

"I stayed at Avelyn's last night. She was supposed to come to out house to watch a movie with Percy, but when I went to go get her, something seemed off... She punched and broke her bathroom mirror, so I patched her up and tried to get her to talk to me, but... she just wasn't having any of it. I left, but then rethought the situation and returned with two movies and a bunch of candy. We watched the movies and that's when I noticed the blue roses."

"Blue roses?" Tonks repeated. "I think I saw those same roses. In a crystal case, right?"

"Yeah... I asked her about them, but she didn't really want to talk about it. I uh... kinda bumped into and broke it."

"How did she react?"

"She hugged me; said that she'd been wanting to do that for a while, I guess. She explained that the vase scared her," I answered quietly.

"Did she say why?"

"No... said she didn't know why," I sighed quietly. "I just want to know how someone could scare her so badly," I mumbled, looking down at the table.

"You know what she told me about those flowers?" Tonks murmured lowly. When I looked up at her, she continued, "She said that blue roses meant 'I can't have you, but I still want you'."

I frowned deeply. What kind of person would send her those flowers? Were they aware of what they meant? He must have...The thought of some sick bastard kidnapped her made my blood boil.

"Charlie. There's nothing we can do now, but investigate, okay? We will find her, I promise," Tonks swore.

"Okay, so Kingsley wants us to head over to Ava's home. She was told to keep a diary, mostly for herself, but he thinks there's a chance she wrote something about this stranger," remus sighed softly, coming back over to us.

On the way there, Tonks and I filled him in on the previous night. 

"After we check out her home, we should stop by the flower shop to see if Neville has any information," Remus murmured as we entered her apartment complex.

"Sounds good."

When we finally entered her room (I locked it, so we had to make sure there were no muggles near by so that we could unlock it with magic), it looked exactly the same as I left it. It even still smelled like popcorn.

"Did you guys clean up or something? I thought you said you brought a whole bunch of stuff over," Tonks commented, looking around.

"I did after she left in the morning," I answered her calmly.

"And do you remember what time she left?" Remus inquired, going over and checking the garbage can.

"Yeah... like 5:30 or so," I responded, also taking my time to really scan the room.

Everything seemed exactly right, but something very small seemed wrong, out of place. And it seriously bothered me. I locked the door, then again it wouldn't take a second for a wizard to unlock it with magic. The lock certainly didn't seem tampered with physically. Maybe I was going nuts; maybe there really wasn't anything off.

"I'm going to go check her room for the diary," Tonks informed us.

"Okay. Charlie, you want to accompany me to the bathroom? I want to check out the mirror," Remus told me.

I agreed and upon entering the bathroom, I was caught off guard.

 

Give up. You'll never get her back in one piece.

 

"Is that blood?" I found myself whispering, eyes glared to the writing on the wall.

"Yes. Let's hope it's not Ava's," he responded lowly, taking the first step towards it.

A spell later and small particles of blood came off the wall and formed into a word.

 

Aurora Maria Luna Akull

 

"Huh? Who's that?" I asked quickly, reading the name over and over again.

"I'm not sure. Quite the name, though. Akull. Isn't that Albanian for ice?" Remus mumbled, probably to himself.

"Wait.... this name seems almost familiar," I said suddenly. "I think I read it somewhere..."

"In your studies? Do you think you have the book still?" Remus asked hurriedly.

"I'm sure I do. I bring my studies home," I told him, wracking my brain to try and figured out where I'd read that name.

"Hey I found the diary-- oh my-- What? Who's blood is that?" Tonks exclaimed.

"Someone named Aurora Maria Luna Akull," Remus answered, quietly letting the blood go back on the wall. "We'll have to make sure that no one enters her apartment."

"Quite the name... Oh, so her diary mentions a stranger on the beach. Do you remember her panicking and freezing the water?"

"She never told us about any person then, but she did seem pretty freaked out," I murmured thoughtfully.

"And then she mentions a guy at the flower shop. The writing is short here, probably because she was tired, but all it talks about is the guy who apparently touched her hair."

"He touched her hair?" I repeated, angered. "What creep would do that?"

"I'm not sure... Maybe Neville saw something thought," Remus commented worriedly.

"Even if he didn't, the shop has security cameras," I pointed out. "Are we done here?"

"There's some more tests I'd like to run. You two go on over to the flower shop. I've already called Pomona and Neville to head on over," Remus informed us.

We nodded and went off. The entire time, I was silent, wracking my brain for where I'd seen that name before. Akull... And not just the Akull part. The entire name was burned into my skull and I was so angry that I couldn't remember where the hell it was from.

"There's a chance that that's not even her blood," Tonks murmured gently.

"We don't even know her real name though," I countered. "She could have that name for all we know."

"What we need to have is faith that she's okay. These people are desperate, meaning somewhere along the line they messed up. They want us to give up. You can't tell me that doesn't scream failure," she pointed out.

"Faith isn't going to keep Ava safe," I mumbled, opening the door to the flower shop.

 

Third Person POV

 

Remus stared at the wall with the blood writing, a deep frown creasing his seasoned face. The words gave him hope. They messed up and were panicking. But where did they mess up? What did they do or not do to make them feel worried enough that they had to risk coming to her home, where any of them could have been at any time, to write this?

And the blood. There's no way they would use blood from any of their own people to write this. That would make it far too easy to find them.

So it's either some poor passerby's blood or Avelyn's. And if it is Avelyn's, that name... Wouldn't they be worried they could trace it's origins and truly figure out why they took her. If they could figure out why they took her, they could figure out who took her.

Why would they take so many risks? If they thought she could yield any information about her race, they're sorely mistaken. Remus and the others had practically scrubbed her memory the best they could. The only way they could pull any information out would be...

Remus widened his eyes and yanked out his phone. The ministry needed to know.


	11. Anemone

Chapter eleven: Anemone

 

"W-What? Questions? What's going on?" Neville asked worriedly, glancing between the two of us.

I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to tell everyone that Ava was kidnapped. However, Tonks made up my mind for me.

"We think she might have been kidnapped. We just want to know if anything strange happened since she started working at the flower shop," she answered him as gently as possible.

"Kidnapped? Who would want to do that?"

"We honestly don't know much right now, but she said something in her diary about some man she met here? He did something to her hair?" she suggested. 

"Oh yeah! I can show you on the security camera," he informed us, starting into the backroom. "He was really weird," he mumbled. "I feel bad for not interfering sooner, but... do you think he had something to do with her disappearance?"

"We don't know, Neville," I murmured. "Did he have any sort of accent?"

"Mm... not really. Didn't really sound like he was around here, though. Hard to place," he murmured, grabbing a tape and sticking it into the VCR.

He flipped through the footage until a man came inside, wearing quite the expensive looking outfit. he had longer hair and the way he looked at the camera made me think he was going to do something he didn't want recorded.

"Do you know him?" Neville inquired quietly, feeling uncomfortable just seeing him on the screen.

"He... doesn't seem familiar, no," Tonks mumbled, squinting her eyes. "Those eyes..."

"Yeah," I murmured. "Keep playing it."

So, he did. They talked for a small amount of time and then she went outside for something. He went over to the ribbons in the meantime and stared at them. When she came back, she was holding a white iris. He pointed to the ribbons and, after placing the single flower on the counter and grabbing the scissors, she went on over to him and the ribbons. It was while she was measuring the gold ribbon that he leaned in, taking a bit of her hair ever so gently and smelling it. She back away rather suddenly, face contorting slightly to form several scales and scars for a few seconds before Neville came in and it all disappeared.

"Huh?! I didn't see that before!" Neville exclaimed, pausing the video.

"Not surprised..." Tonks sighed. "He startled her enough to nearly make her transform. She didn't say anything about it in her diary, so I'm wondering if she even noticed."

"Did he say anything to you after she left?" I asked, looking at Neville now.

"Not really... just bought his flower and left. Ava came out soon afterwards," he informed us.

"I should go to my books; see if I can't find anything to connect the two," I grumbled, a deep anger rising in my chest when I saw him touch her.

"Neville, could you rewind a minute?" Tonks asked.

"Sure thing."

"Okay, stop. And start it again. Which button stops it?"

When she stopped it again, it was when Avelyn's face was contorting.

"Why are we here again?" I grumbled.

"Look at his face. His eyes," Tonks murmured, taking her phone out and taking a picture.

When I looked at the video again, I looked at him. She was right: His eyes were glowing a vibrant green and even his face was starting to contort to show scales. Was he a shapeshifter, too? A dragon no less. What did he mean to her?

"What do you think it means?" I mumbled, finding myself having a hard time looking away from the video.

"I think it means that he's a potential kidnapped," she murmured, sending the picture to someone.

"What now? Do we know anything about this guy?"

"No, but Remus wants to meet us at the café," she informed me. "Thanks, Neville. Let us know the instant he comes back," she told him, leaving afterwards.

"No problem... please find Ava..." he murmured quietly in response.

 

"Back room, now," Remus ordered hurriedly, opening the back order to allow us inside.

"What? What happened?" Tonks inquired worriedly.

"I think they're going to perform memoria homicidium," he spoke gravely.

Memoria...?

"What is that? What are they going to do?" I asked quickly, looking between the two with concern.

"People rarely survive that spell," Tonks mumbled. "Why would they do that?"

"Either they think that her memory is too deeply locked away and have no idea that it's not even in her brain anymore or they know full well that none of it's there and they just want to know where it might be," Remus murmured. 

"Where are her memories now?" I asked quickly. "Shouldn't we move it?"

"No, that might seem suspicious, especially if they have a person on the inside. No, we'll put someone on watch over her memories," Remus told us.

"Remus... when we get her back... what is the Ministry going to do with her?" I inquired softly.

He looked at me carefully for a moment, seeming to be thinking over his answer. I swear, if he doesn't give my a straight answer I'll scream.

"They'll probably put her back in the safe house," he admitted finally with a deep sigh. "No one wants that, I know, but we really won't have a choice. This whole incident could cause a complete breakdown and we all know how much devastation she could cause," he said carefully.

I appreciated his honesty, but the whole thing aggravated me. I was anxious that I couldn't help her when she needed someone, anyone, the most.

"Okay," I mumbled, looking down now.

"I got news from Kingsley that there is a group of wizards that are hunting shapeshifters of all kinds. Apparently, their parts are on high demand for high prices on the black market," he murmured. "he think we should go check it out."

"Check what out?" Tonks asked.

"Someone used to work in the Ministry; file section. Joshua Withers. Apparently, he quit suddenly about a decade ago, when the disappearances started to spike in the shakeshifting community. Kingsley wants us to go talk to a person who's been working in the files for almost a century," Remus told us.

"Charlie and I can handle it," Tonks murmured.

"No, I'd like you to go see Teddy," Remus countered. "The babysitter called and said that he's spiked a fever."

"What? Oh man..." she said worriedly. "All right, keep me in the loop, though," she told him.

After pecking his cheek, she hurried out of the room. I was almost jealous of their relationship. Remus wasn't the smoothest guy when it came to expressing how he felt about Tonks, but still, here they were. Maybe I could get some advice from him... but now wasn't really the time.

"You ready?" I murmured.

"Avelyn," he started after a rather long pause, "is like a child to me. My child. We will find her and bring her back; I don't care what it takes."

I looked up at him in surprising, not used to this aggressive nature from Remus. But I was grateful.

"We'll stop at nothing," I agreed.

He looked over at me, offering a small smile.

"Do you want to stop by your home and grab your notes so you can read them on the way over?" he suggested.

"Sure."

 

"What is that?" Remus inquired as we entered the exaggeratedly large room, filled with billions of files and papers.

"A missing person's posted found in Romania, I answered him quietly. "It's written in the dragon's language, so everyone is having a hard time deciphering it. Why?"

"Do you think that guy could? The one from the flower shop?" Remus suggested as we walked towards the back, stepping carefully over piles of books and papers.

"Definitely. Shouldn't be too hard to find him, especially now that we know what he looks like," I commented.

"Excuse me, sir? You wouldn't happen to be Sean Last, would you?" Remus inquired, upon spotting an older man.

"Why yes, I am. You must be Remus Lupin. Kingsley told me that you would be stopping by," he said happily. "Something to do with Joshua?"

"Indeed. He left about a decade ago? Could you tell me about him?" As in, did he take any particular interest in anything while he was here?"

"Mm... well, yes. Shapeshifters. Said they were quite magnificent. And that's true! Shapeshifters really are amazing," he responded fondly. "It's been a life dream of mine to meet one."

"Ahm, well, they're quite rare, no?" Remus murmured. "How often did he seem to talk about them, or mention them in anyway?"

"Joshua was a quiet young man; didn't really talk a lot," he answered. "But when he did talk, it was... something dark."

"Dark?" I inquired.

"Mm."

 

Avelyn's POV

 

Tired. Why am I so tired? Maybe I was studying for too long. Stefnir had a habit of pushing me a little too hard. I guess that was because I'm going to be Queen when I come of age. Honestly, I still have 92 years until my coronation, but Stefnir really was concerned that I knew everything I needed to.

My bed was so rough. Maybe I fell asleep at my table. Even if I did, Stefnir would have moved me to my bed. When I tried to stretch my legs, they were met with an obstacle. My wall? I moved backwards and hit my head on another obstacle. I let out a sharp gasp when pain laced my head. What was going on? Panic laced my chest when I tried to sit up and hit my head again.

"M-Mom?"


	12. Zinnia

Chapter twelve: Zinnia

 

Where am I?

"She's awake, Josh," informed a woman, suddenly standing next to the cage.

"Good."

A tall man came over, coming from the room with the strange light. He looked almost withered from age and he reminded me of some of the servants from back home. I inched back as far as I could, though obviously my movements were restricted. Where was my mom? And my dad? I'd been warned by Stefnir that, as a princess, people would kidnap me, wanting money in return. I was told to talk to them as much as possible, to make me seem more human, but I was terrified.

"When do you want to start the spell?" inquired another man.

I flinched away, pressing back into the corner. Spell? What spell? Are these people magicians? I started to feel like these people weren't holding me for money. I hadn't had a lot of experience with wizards, so this only terrified me more.

"No, not yet, Raz. We still have time. If you think you can control her, do what you will. But do not let her escape," he warned, turning and heading back into the lit up room.

"Perfect," he practically purred, leaning onto the cage, wand lightly playing with some of my hair.

No matter how hard I tried to move out of reach, it was useless. Tears streamed down my face and I sobbed. Why were they doing this to me?!

 

Charlie's POV

 

"How's Teddy?" I murmured quietly, looking up from my notes when Tonks entered the café.

Remus, too, looked up from his folder, seeming a little worried.

"He's all right," she promised, sitting down with us. "Did you talk to Sean?"

"yeah. We're fairly sure Joshua Withers is our guy," I grumbled.

"He apparently stole many files on outlawed spells," Remus informed her.

"Outlawed? Great. What's that? A missing person's poster?" she inquired, looking at what I was working on.

"yeah... She looks familiar, right?" I tossed at her, moving the papers that she could see the picture better.

"No way... Is that Ava?"

"Aurora, actually," I corrected. "Remus and I think this is a missing person's poster for her," I answered, looking back down at the detailed drawing of a child, maybe 8 or 9 years old.

"Wow... she looks like royalty..." Tonks murmured, also looking over the picture more.

"Because she is. Do you remember that guy from the flower shop?" Remus asked. "Well he's at the counter, ordering us drinks. It's okay, Tonks, he's not going anywhere."

"He translated the paper for us and wants to help get her back," I explained.

"Why? So he can steal her and do creepy things to her?" Tonks growled, glaring over at the man.

"It's true that he does want to take her, but he wants to bring her back home; even willing to let me come along," I told her.

"Bring her back home? Where's that?"

"Antarctica. She's been missing for three centuries," Remus sighed. "And now she's been kidnapped again."

"Well, Ava's a strong girl; she survived three hundred years in the hands of strangers, didn't she? She's resourceful," Tonks pointed out, seeming to be reassuring herself more than anyone else. 

"But do you remember what happens when she's in high stress situations?" Remus asked, a deep frown creasing his face.

Tonks paused. "She reverts back to her eight year old self where she doesn't know how to transform into a dragon," she answered, slumping back into her chair.

"We need to find her as soon as possible or she's doomed," Remus said what we were all thinking.

"And we will," Stefnir said confidentially, setting our drinks down on the table. "You were right in saying she's resourceful," he commented.

"You... overhead us?" Tonks inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

"Indeed. I have impeccable hearing," he said proudly. "My sense of smell and sight are also far beyond humans," he added.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Tell us your idea already."

"And apparently more patience. I know about the group of wizards hunting my kind that you spoke of," he told us, sipping his tea. "They're ruthless, however their goons are quite stupid."

"Goons?"

"You don't honestly think some old man and a bunch of children could take down my kind?" he snorted, leaning back in his chair and crossing on leg over the other so that his ankle was touching the opposite leg's knee.

"An old man? And children?" Tonks repeated incredulously.

"Ah, well, maybe not children to you. I suppose since they're humans, they would be in their thirties, therefore adults," he concluded.

None of us spoke for a few moments, really not sure what to make of this guy.

"So you've seen them; in person?" Remus inquired.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I've fought them before about a decade ago," he sighed."They came too close to our castle and we actually caught one. Holding him for three months, he told us about their group and even told us he knew where our precious Aurora was," he sighed. "Said she was.... fighting; battling for money," he practically sobbed. "To think an innocent child, so young and frail was doing, being forced to do such horrific atrocities; it breaks my heart."

"Tch. What the hell did you do to her in the flower shop?" Tonks asked rather suddenly, causing Remus and I to look at her.

"The flower... ah... you see," I had heard that Rory had lost her memory, though I wanted to be sure of it myself. When I could see that the rumors were true; that she wasn't recognizing me, I... could only think of one thing that could possibly jumpstart her memory. I used to be the one to brush her hair each night, you see so--"

"You thought you'd totally creep her out by sexually harassing her?" Tonks snapped.

"Watch your tongue, human," he growled, and Remus out a hand on the table. 

"We are graciously keeping you here and not interrogating you in the Ministry. Calm down."

He sat back down in his chair again and simply sipped his tea.

"How do you plan on helping us get her back?" I finally asked, watching him closely.

"I know exactly where they are," he answered, nonchalantly.

"Then why haven't you gotten her?! Or told us where she is?!" Tonks exclaimed, standing now.

"Because you have to promise me something."

"What do you want?" Remus murmured.

 

Avelyn's POV

 

"I wonder if she's a virgin," the man spoke, wand jabbing at me through the bars.

I sobbed loudly, batting at the wand with fear and annoyance. 

"Who cares? You're going to fuck her anyways, right?" the woman snorted, leaning against some nearby crates.

"W-Why are you doing this to me?" I sobbed, pulling my knees to my chest.

"What language was that? She wasn't talking like that before," the woman commented, quirking an eyebrow down at me.

"Do you think she's regaining any of her memory?" the man asked quickly, seeming excited about something.

"Which brings to question: Why isn't Josh starting the spell? Also, why did he write that damn note on the wall?" she practically growled, rolling her eyes.

"To make the others think we're panicking," snickered the man, poking my neck with his wand. "Are you tired, princess? Want me to stop?"

I nodded slowly. I did want him to stop, but I was also becoming very tired. Why? I was unsure. I had no idea how long I was in that cage, when was the last time I'd eaten, nor drank. My body was becoming sore from staying in such a small cage and I knew that I was bleeding from both a large wound on my arm and many smaller wounds on my body, courtesy of the spiky-aired man. I just wanted to go back home, go back to my mom and dad and all of my sisters. They were probably worried about me by now...

"Good. Then it'll be easier to fuck you," he purred, tapping the cage, which unlocked.

I looked at the opening anxiously. Could my legs carry me fast enough to escape these wizards? Probably not, but I had to try. I lunged myself out the opening, however found myself unable to move my legs; they fell asleep. Instead, when the man came too close, I tried punching, scratching, hitting, anything I could muster to escape his grasp. Suddenly, I couldn't move at all. I looked up to see the woman standing over me, wand pointed directly at my face. A spell?

"Having issues handling her?" snorted the woman, moving to lean against the wall again.

"I had it under control," the man snapped, brushing some hair from his face before unbuttoning my pants.

No! What was he doing?! I tried so hard to fee, to wriggle, to move anything and everything, but to no avail. Mom, dad, Stefnir, anyone!

Suddenly, the door burst open, flooding the gigantic warehouse with light, all but blinding probably all of us.

"Ava!"

"Rory!"


	13. Pink Roses

Chapter Thirteen: Pink Roses

 

When I woke up, it was dark. Well, there was soft sunlight from a barely risen sun pouring into the room, though it was still difficult to see. However, I could still make out the sleeping form of Charlie, sitting in a chair, by my bed side.

No wait.

This wasn't my bed. And it wasn't my room. The hospital? Anxiety spread through my body like a coldness and I quickly sat up, only succeeding in making me dizzy. Why was I in the hospital? The last thing I remembered was waiting for the bus to go to work. Was I in an accident? And why was Charlie here, not that I minded it. Also, shouldn't I feel more in pain? I felt several wounds, yet no bruising nor did anything feel broken. What kind of accident could I have been in to cause these wounds?

"Ava?"

I looked over quickly to see Charlie groggily looking up at me, rubbing his eyes.

"Uhm... you don't... remember anything?" he inquired, seeming a little bit more awake now.

"No, I don't. Should I have? Was I in an accident?"

"No, no, nothing like that I'm afraid," he sighed gently. "For now, just know that you're safe and that you really should eat something," he suggested, standing.

"You're leaving?" I asked worriedly, reaching a hand out towards him.

He paused for a moment, unsure of what to do, before simply sitting back down.

"I can have a nurse bring it in if you'd like, but for now I'd feel better if you at least drank something," he murmured, offering me a bottle of water. 

I quietly took it and drank it, as was told. It made my throat feel much better and I appreciated it.

"Thank you," I murmured quietly, leaning back against the bed again.

"Here, I'll prop the bed up for you. Unless you want to go back to sleep?"

"No, no... My back hurts," I mumbled, sitting up again so that Charlie could adjust the bed before I rolled onto my side, facing him.

"I'm not surprised," he sighed, pressing a button on the bed side. "Your body naturally burns through the morphine much faster than a normal human's so I'll have the nurse administer more," he informed me, offering me the water bottle again, which I accepted.

"Okay," I murmured. "Does... does she have to...?"

"Inject it? No, you already have an IV in your arm, so he'll just put it in the tube connected to the IV," he reassured, offering me a small smile.

"Okay," I murmured again, sitting up a little so that I could drink the water.

How long had Charlie been with me? How long had I been in the hospital, anyways? Soon enough, a nurse came in with a tray of food.

"Is your back hurting?" she inquired, cocking her head to the side.

I hunched my shoulders a little bit. I froze up. I didn't feel ready or capable enough to talk to anyone at the moment.

"It does," Charlie answered for me, placing a hand on my own. "Could you increase the morphine intake?" he asked, gently squeezing my hand.

"Of course," she responded, smiling gently.

The nurse set the tray of food on the table of sorts and played with the machines for a moment.

"There you are. If there's any more pain, let us know," she told us, still smiling.

I understood that she was only doing her job the best she could, but I felt much better when she left. I relaxed and looked up at Charlie, exceedingly grateful that he was there. Soon enough, the pain started to dissipate.

"Feel any better?" he asked softly.

I nodded tiredly, gently squeezing his hand in return.

"Do you want to try to eat something?"

I hesitated for a moment. I felt rather tired and the prospect of sitting up didn't seem too appealing. However, the thought of food and the feeling of my stomach eating itself made me tentatively sit up. I didn't let go of his hand as I carefully pulled the rolling table over and nibbled on some toast. I felt bad, keeping Charlie there when he should really go eat something, so I offered him my other piece of toast.

"No, no, you need to eat," Charlie murmured, holding up his free hand.

I frowned and moved it closer to him insistently. He sighed lightly before accepting it and taking a bite. Happy that he was eating something, I sipped my orange juice.

"Well look at you two," Remus said, standing in the doorway.

I looked up quickly and smiled widely.

"Remus! How are you? And Tonks? Teddy?" I inquired quickly.

"We're all right," he reassured me gently, walking over to the other side of the bed. "How are you?"

"I'm... okay. What happened, anyways?" I asked quietly, glancing between the two of them.

"I didn't want to tell her until you arrived here," Charlie told him with a light sigh.

"Good choice, Charlie," Remus responded. "Ava, this is going to be some harsh news and although I would like to wait until you're feeling better, I know you'll simply keep asking. You were kidnapped," he started, watching me carefully. "By people who hunt shapeshifters for a living."

"Was I knocked out the entire time because I don't remember anything," I murmured, frowning and clutching Charlie's hand more tightly.

"...No. You were going through a severe panic attack and reverted into your eight year old self," he explained. "This isn't the first time you reverted, though this was the longest time. These people were trying to retrieve some memories of yours about your people."

"But I don't remember anything about my family," I countered quickly, feeling rather confused.

"Well, because we took them from you," Remus murmured slowly. "It was to help you feel better. We felt that they were restricting your recovery, so we took what we could," he told me apologetically.

I sat there for a few moments, not quite sure what to think. Everyone knew this entire time that I could never recover my memories on my own and still watching me struggle? Did they know about my past?

"Did you know all this time who my family was?" I nearly whispered.

"No, no, we didn't, I promise," he answered quickly. "I'm sorry you have to find out this way, Ava. We were planning to give you your memories back a little bit at a time when you were showing improvement, but then this happened and--"

"How did you find me?"

"Well... your old teacher helped us," he answered carefully.

"My old teacher?" I repeated, cocking my head to the side.

"Yes. Stefnir. You'll meet him later, for now though you should rest. You kidnappers hurt you fairly bad when we found you," Remus informed me.

I nodded slightly. "All... right," I mumbled. "Could I see Teddy?"

"After you rest some more," he chuckled, lightly rubbing my arm.

After he left, Charlie and I sat in silence for quite some time. I could feel that he was uncomfortable.

"Thank you," I murmured quietly, glancing over at him.

He looked up at me in surprise, not really sure what to say for a while.

"Why...?"

"I understand that you guys did what was best for me and although I'm a tad upset about it, I'm... just... thank you," I mumbled, bringing Charlie's hand up and tiredly kissing it.

His face burned red, though I hadn't the faintest idea why. That is, until I too started blushing. That apparently was not what siblings did. But I was tired of pretending we're siblings; I was tired of being confused. I liked Charlie and I wanted to tell him, though the prospect of ruining our friendship over some awkwardness scared me. I gently let go of his hand and curled up on my side again. He watched me for a bit before standing up and leaving. I curled up even tighter with a sigh and closed my eyes.

I thought about Remus and frowned. What was he hiding from me? What were they all hiding from me? I wished he'd told me everything, but I suppose there was really nothing I could do. All I knew was that I didn't want to be in the hospital at all. Slowly, I sat up and glared down at the IV. Tentative taking it out, I looked around for my clothes before finally spotting them. They were blood-stained and smelled kind of bad, but I ignored it for the time being.

 

Charlie's POV

 

She kissed my hand. It was so cute. I had to get out of there before I did something stupid. Just a quick breath, maybe a cup of coffee. She could handle that short time alone, right?

What was I going to do? I was tired of putting up this front of being her brother. I was so relieved when we found her that all I wanted to do was take her in my arms and hold her tightly. Should I tell her my feelings? What if she took it poorly? She had so much on her plate right now that it simply didn't seem fair to drop my feelings onto her lap like that. 

Then again, what if she felt the same way? Would she have told me already? I highly doubt it. I thought about my mum telling me to go for it, but to be gentle. Gentleness. Avelyn-- Aurora-- ugh... Ava needed gentles more than anything.

But then I remembered what Stefnir had said; what his deal was in exchange for helping us find Avelyn. I thought it was all ridiculous.

That's it... I'm telling her. I'm going to tell her how I feel about her.

Whipping around, I went straight back to her room. If she was sleeping, I'd wait until she woke up. I hoped she'd take it well--

Gone.

Where the hell could she have gone?!


	14. White Carnations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in a while, you guys. I've been all over the place with knee problems, anxiety problems and being jobless.

Chapter Fourteen:

Home sweet--  
Did I smell blood? I looked around my apartment carefully, looking for the source of the acrid smell. I paused upon entering the bathroom and covered my mouth with my hand and stumbled back into the wall. What the hell? It looked old, several days at least. Why hadn't anybody said something to me? I quickly turned and closed the door, harder than I had actually meant to. I took a moment to breath before heading into my room, hand still covering my mouth.  
These clothes felt disgusting and all I wanted right now was to change. I quickly stipped and searched my closet for any comfortable clothes I could find. A tanktop and stretchy shorts. Couldn't really get any any better at this point. I pondered slipping into the bathroom and cleaning the wall, however the thought made my stomach churn and instead I curled up on my bed with the book Remus was currently lending me.  
Remus.  
Perhaps I should call him, make him tell me everything. I paused for a moment. My phone. Where was it? I had checked my phone to see the time when... when the whole thing started. Did I drop it? Wouldn't surprise me, to be honest. So now how was I supposed to contact Remus? Maybe I should just pay them a visit... Would that be annoying for them? No, no, Tonks said that I could come back there any time. She wouldn't mind, right?

"Ava? What in the world are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the hospital," Tonks said, ushering me inside. "Charlie and remus are looking for you," she sighed, going into the kitchen to grab her phone. "Hey, honey, she's here. Yeah... see ya soon."  
"I'm sorry, Tonks," I said quickly, wringing my shirt tightly.  
"No, you're okay. We knew how much you hated hospitals and yet we put you in there," she murmured gently, utting a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you come feed Teddy while I do the dishes," she suggested, motioning to the good and spoon and Teddy in his high chair.  
I silently nodded and did as I was told. I actually enjoyed feeding Teddy; he wasn't picky in any way and happily ate all his food. He actually always looked away whenever he voitted. He was pretty considerate, for a baby.  
We heard the door open and Remus and Charlie rushed into the kitchen, both seeming a little out of breath. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair and put the spoon down. Teddy perked up upon seeing Remus.  
"You're okay," Charlie breathed, quickling coming towards me and hugging me tightly.  
I paused, unsure of what to do for a moment before tentatively returning the embrace. Another moment and I buried my face into his neck; I needed more moments like this between us. I felt so safe and happy.  
"Ava... I'm sorry that I left, I really am," Charlie said quietly. "I just... I'm sorry."  
"It's okay," I mumbled into his neck. "I'm sorry I left."  
"Here's your new phone, Avelyn," Remus interrupted, holding out said phone to me.  
Charlie finally let go, as did I reluctantly, and I took the phone quietly. It looked exactly like my old one, which I was grateful for.  
"Your old one was smashed," Remus informed me. "When you were kidnapped..."  
"Speaking of which, is that why there's writing in blood in my bathroom?" I inquired, quirking an eyebrow up at him.  
"Er... yes. Ava, why don't you and Charlie put Teddy to bed while Tonks and I make tea. We'll explain everything," he promised, glancing over at Tonks.  
"Sure," I mumbled, taking the cover off of the high chair and gently picking him up.   
"Here's the rag, just in case he pukes," Tonks murmured, tucking said rag on my shoulder.  
"Thanks," I responded, moving off down the hall with Charlie.  
"You... handle Teddy well," he commented after a short pause.  
"Thanks," I repeated, "I was basically his babysitter while I lived here. I enjoy his company," I added, gently patting his back while we walked.   
"Do you think you'll have kids?"  
"I hope so... I want a lot, but I don't know how shapeshifter birthing works," I admitted quietly.  
"Well, I'm sure you'll be getting answers pretty soon. And not just about birthing, about everything," he added as we entered the room. "Stefnir... wants to take you home to your family. I'm supposed to come, too, to make sure he does just that."  
"My family?" I repeated, gently laying Teddy down after he puked.  
"Yeah, you... apparently your dad died two years ago," he murmured softly, putting a hand on my shoulder.  
I froze midway from putting the blanket on Teddy.  
"My... My dad?" I repeated, finishing said task before looking up at him. "My dad's... he's dead?"  
I was hearing his words, but they were simply weren't clicking. When people talked about my father, they were usually talking about Remus. Even though I was well above age, it was almost like he had adopted. I knew Remus wasn't dead, and certainly not two years deceased, so Charlie must have been talking about my birth father; the father that I would never be able to meet ever again because he was...  
I sobbed, burying my head into my hands, though they didn't stay there for long. Charlie pulled me into a tight hug and I buried my face into his shoulder. My sobs were controlable and they were making my chest hurt. Or maybe that was from learning about my father. I knew nothing about his manl not a single thing. That might be because the Ministry still hasn't given me my memories back, but still. I didn't know his favorite color or his favorite food; I didn't even know his name.  
"What... What was my dad's name?" I asked through heavy breath, unable to look up at him.  
"Vamor," he answered gently, stroking my hair. "Vamor Deloria Akull."  
"Akune... Is that my last name? My real last name?" I asked quickly, pressing closer.  
"Yes... Let's... head back out, hm? I'm sure the tea is ready by now and Remus is better at explaining things better than I am," he murmured, tilting my head up to look at him via my chin.  
"Yeah... Charlie... I don't think of you as a brother. I never did," I admitted rather suddenly.  
His eyes were a lot greener and brighter than I ever remembered them being. No, that's not true. When we first met, they were even brighter.  
"You... don't? Well, maybe that's for the better because--"  
"Is Teddy asleep-- Oop, sorry guys," Tonks apologized quickly before slipping right back out of the room.  
I was silent for a moment and I was going to say something, but then he turned and quickly left as well. I frowned deeply. Didn't he say something about it being good? What was he going to say? Why did he leave? Why could he never give me a straight answer about how he felt? I begrudgingly went out into the living room and sat in the chair across from the couch, which sat the other three.  
"Somebody is going to be showing up soon and you have to promise not to panic, okay?" Remus said slowly, handing me a cup of Earl Grey tea.  
"Panic? Who would make me panic?" I inquired carefull, taking the cup.  
"Well, let's talk about something else until then," Tonks said quickly.  
I glanced over at Charlie. He wasn't looking at me; he was looking at everything but me. One of the things his gaze kept lingering on a photo of Remus, Tonks and myself. Why was he so focused on that picture?  
"My name. What's my real name?" I inquired, finally tearing my gaze from Charlie and looking at the other two.  
"Aurora Maria Luna Akull," Remus answered calmly. "You're a princess, Ave-- Aurora. We'll all have to get used to calling you that from now on."  
"A... A princess?" I repeated slowly, incredulously, frowning. "Then my dad was..."  
"The king. He ruled over the entirety of Antarctica with your mother, Lunaya," he explained.  
"My... mom? Is she still alive?" I asked quickly.  
"Yes, yes, she's alive and well and has many years to live. And she's waiting expectantly at your home," Tonks answered happily.  
"Lunaya... My home? Not my apartment..."  
"Nah, your castle," Tonks chuckled.  
"When do I meet her?" I asked quietly, leaning forward a bit more.  
"Tomorrow night at the ball hosted in honor of your return," answered someone in the door way.  
"When I saw who it was, I immediately tensed up, clutching the cup so tightly that it broke. I honestly didn't feel the pain of the porcelain in my hand.  
"Oh dear," he murmured, a frown creasing his face.  
Remus quickly came over to me while Tonks obtained the medical kit. They started to patch up my hands, but I really wasn't paying attention to them.  
"Aurora... I know you've never been one for tea, but that was simply rude. That cup was adorable," the man chastised, leaning against the wall.  
"Why is he here?" I growled, eyes wide.  
"Because he's your teacher, Aurora. His name is Stefnir and he's the one who's going to bring you home," Remus responded carefully, taping


	15. Purple Roses

"So you like tea now? Perhaps it was your young taste buds that didn’t allow for bitter nourishment,“ he concluded, sitting in a kitchen chair that was brought over, crossing one leg over the other.

I didn’t respond, eyes narrowing in contempt and annoyance. Of all people..

“When are you going to retrieve the princess’s memory?” he inquired impatiently, quirking a thin eyebrow towards Remus.

“Don’t speak to him like that,” I snapped, sitting up.

“My apologies, princess,” he murmured quietly, seeming a little surprised.

“We’re retrieving her memories as we speak. Unfortunately, the Ministry refuses to… return them unless she’s in a controlled environment and we have enough wizards to… subdue her should we have to.”

“Why on Earth should you have to subdue her? And those are her memories! You have no choice but to return them!” he snapped.

“I agree,” I said quickly, though calmly.

I just wanted my memories back. I wanted to remember my late father and my mother and everyone. I didn’t even know if I had any siblings. Charlie’s siblings were constantly on my mind and they made me yearn for some of my own.

“Princess, if you’d like my opinion–”

“I don’t,” I growled. “You don’t have any say in what I do; I’m not a kid anymore,” I snorted, accepting a new cup of tea gratefully from Tonks. “And I will replace that, I promise.”  
"It’s all right, Ava– Aurora. Man, quite the name. Anyways, it’s all right, sweetie,“ she murmured, leaning down and hugging me lightly.

"We’ll get your memories back,” Remus reassured. “Unfortunately, we have to put in a cage again.”

“Again?” I repeated, blinking a few times.

“You were… kept in a rather small cage while you were kidnapped,” he cleared up. “This one will be large,” he reassured me.

I slowly nodded, sipping my tea.

“I understand that precautions need to be made,” I murmured. “From what you’ve told me, most of my memories seem… horrific,” I grumbled. “And even though they seem scary, I need them.”

The though of being that cage, however, caused me to pull out my lotion and slather my hands with it. The smell instantly wafted into my nose and I relaxed a little bit.

“That’s… mature of you, princess,” Stefnir commented quietly, yet again looking surprised.

“I grew up quickly,” I grumbled, sipping more tea. “When do we get started?” I asked Remus.

“As soon as we give them the word. It should take no more than an hour to set up the cage and then it would take no time at all to gather enough wizards, just in case,” he answered.

I nodded silently, leaning back against my chair and pulling my feet up onto it.

“How are we going home?” I inquired, looking around at everyone. “I mean…. I know its in Antarctica and we could fly there, but what about Charlie? And I’m guessing we won’t be flying right here.”

“You’re right about the flying part and no, you can’t take off where muggles can see you, so you’ll be going on a boat so that you can take off in the middle of the ocean,” Remus answered me calmly. “We have a saddle ready to go so that Charlie can ride one of you.”

“I can do it,” I offered quickly. “I still don’t really trust this guy,” I mumbled, glancing over at Stefnir, who simply sighed.

“Aurora, do you want to accompany me to pack for the trip?” Charlie offered, speaking up for the first time in a while.

“Sounds good,” I agreed, standing quietly. “Where are we doing all of this, anyway?” I asked.

“At the safe house,” Remus responded carefully.

“Makes sense,” I mumbled, setting my tea cup down. “We’ll be over once he’s done packing,” I told them quietly, glancing over when Charlie stood, too.

“I must insist on joining you,” Stefnir abruptly said, quickly standing.

“No. I need you to stay far away from me. I don’t care who you were to me, but now you’re just some stalker creep who sniffed my hair,” I snapped, following Charlie towards the door.

“You’ll remember me soon enough, Princess. You’ll remember how much you need me,” Stefnir said, calmly sitting back down and crossing one leg over the other.

“Yeah, whatever.”

 

“How long are you going to stay over?” I asked him quietly, walking up to the door with him.

He shrugged silently, entered. We were greeted immediately by Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny who were all doing homework in the living room.

“Oh! You’re out of the hospital!” Hermione exclaimed, sitting up even more. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m all right,” I responded. “How is school going?”

“Oh, wonderfully,” she answered, grinning.

“We can continue this later,” Charlie murmured. “Don’t mean to interrupt, but we’re in sort of a rush.”

I nodded in agreement and when we ascended the stairs, I heard Ron say something about us snogging, whatever that meant. Another flight and we entered Charlie’s room and I smiled a little bit. I realized I’d never been in his room as I looked around, noting the many posters, moving, of his favorite quidditch team. He had a bookshelf over flowing with every type of book: fiction, non-fiction, dragon stuff, spells, romance, action, horror and comics. Some look so old they were falling apart, yet some were brand new. He kept his room fairly clean and even his drawers were labeled. Come to think of it, I bet Percy did that… He pulled a suitcase from his closet and started putting folded clothes in it.

“I’m grateful that you’re coming, Charlie,” I murmured after a moment, wondering why he was being so quiet.

“You’ll know everyone once you regain your memories,” he mumbled.

“But I won’t… I may not even recognize their faces. It’s been three centuries, Charlie. What could I possibly remember?” I sighed, sitting on his desk chair.

“There’s going to be a ball in honor of your return,” he told me abruptly. “Stefnir wanted to wait until you arrived, but I thought you should be able to prepare first.”

“A… ball? As in a party? A formal party? Where people wear… dresses?” I whispered incredulously. “I don’t have any dresses…”

“Using your clothes sizes, they’re making you a dress as we speak,” he murmured. “You can get to know people at the ball.”

“You’ll be there, too, right?” I asked quickly, eyes wide and I quickly pulled my lotion out again.

“Of course. I’m know how your anxiety works, Aurora,” he murmured gently, looking over at me. I’ll be with you every step of the way, until you don’t need me anymore.“

"I’m always going to need you, Charlie…” I said quietly, watching him.

“No, you’re not…” he muttered, closing his suitcase. “You’re going to go to the ball, meet some suitor, fall in love, have kids and be happy. You won’t need me any more,” he grumbled, a deep frown creasing his handsome face.

“You’re wrong!” I exclaimed, standing now. “I’ll always need you because I love you!”

I don’t think either of us processed my words for a moment or two. When it clicked, however, my face burned brightly and I sat back down, facing the ground now, hands ringing my lotion bottle. I hadn’t meant to yell that, however emotions were high and I felt like I could vomit. I shrunk into myself, shoulders hunched when I heard Charlie walking over to me. He was moving so slowly, as if unsure of his own movements. I flinched when I saw him raise a hand out of the corner of my eye. Much to my surprise, he gently took my chin and tilted it, forcing me to look up at him.

He looked so pained.

“Did you think I would be mad?” he inquired softly, eyebrows furrowing up.

When I very slightly nodded, his face only saddened and he knelt down in front of me.

“Well, I’m not,” he murmured carefully, offering me a small smile. “I’m overjoyed.”

I blinked a few times, somewhat shocked, before I tentatively, slowly, wrapped my arms around him, tightening the hug with each passing second. He returned the embrace and rested his head on mine.

“You can’t believe how happy this makes me,” he mumbled into my hair.

“I think you’re wrong,” I mumbled in responded, burying my face into his neck.

“There’s a small problem,” he sighed softly, moving back only enough so that I could look up at him. “Stefnir.”

“Stefnir? What about that creep?” I asked quickly, looking up at him with worry.

“We… we made a deal. He wasn’t going to help us rescue you unless… Unless I agreed to not confess my feelings for you,” he admitted. "How he knew, I’m not sure…“

"He… what?” I hissed. “I see… alright… alright… I will deal with him.”


	16. Hydrangea

“Are you okay?“ Remus inquired gently, watching Charlie and I exit the car.

"I just want to know how Charlie got his license,” I mumbled, a hand on my twisted stomach.

Honestly, I really was sick to my stomach, though now I realize it may not have been due to the driving. I looked around to Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Minerva, Sirius, Arthur and Molly all bustling about, preparing.

“Here, dear, I brought something for your stomach just in case you were feeling sick or nervous,” Molly told me, hurrying over to Charlie and I.

I hesitantly accepted the bottle and took a swig of whatever was in it. The liquid tasted somewhat of strawberries and mangoes, and almost immediately my stomach rested. I smiled appreciatively down at Molly and hugged her lovingly.

“Thank you, Molly.”

“Oh, not at all, dearie. Just make sure you come back to visit, okay?”

“Of course!” I exclaimed, surprised she even had to mention it. “You guys are more of a family to me than my biological one,” I told her softly, offering a small smile that I hoped would put her nerves to ease.

“Oh, you’re too sweet,” she sighed, patting my cheek before turning and heading back over to where Arthur was standing, talking to Kingsley.

“When this is over, I’ll bring Teddy, don’t worry,” Tonks piped up after we starting walking into the woods, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

“Thank you, Tonks,” I responded. “That means a lot to me,” I admitted, offering her shaky smile.

Charlie gave a small laugh. “I bet you Teddy misses you just as much as you miss him, Aurora,” he commented, lightly rubbing my back.

Remus was looking between Charlie and myself, seeming to be lost in thought or trying to figure something out. I hoped, almost prayed that he wouldn’t say anything aloud or near Stefnir. Remus excellent at reading people and I severely wanted Stefnir to continue on in ignorance. I wanted him to pay for he’d done and my plan would be ruined if he caught wind of Charlie’s and my newly found relationship.

Thankfully, if he did notice anything, he made no comment.

We arrived at the well-hidden and spell protected safe house and I stumbled somewhat in hesitation. I had made many fond memories here, however there was still more dark memories. A large metal cage surrounded and enchanted with spells caught my eye and I held my breath with extreme uncertainty. The thought of being in another cage, even a large one was terrifying to say the least.

“I have clothes for you here, Aurora,” Tonks informed me, shaking a plastic bag. 

I offered her a small nod and Molly put a gentle hand on my shoulder once Tonks had gone over to say something to Remus. “Whenever you’re ready, but don’t feel like you have to rush,” Molly said gently.

I nodded tentatively and lightly squeezed Charlie’s arm before finally entering the cage. I shivered upon entering, feeling the intense spells coursing through. Sirius was the one to lock the door behind me and offered me a thumbs up, but I paused a moment. Quickly, I slipped off my shoes and handed them to him through the bars and offered him a soft smile. I was appreciative of Sirius and Minerva being here considering they were a big part of my recovery. I watched as Remus opened up a somewhat large trunk with a wave of his wand. He very carefully pulled out a perfectly spherical orb that vaguely reminded me of a misty snow globe.

“This contains your memories, Remus informed me as calmly as he could, bringing it over to the cage. Even he seemed nervous, beads of sweat already forming on his brow. "You need to relax and allow your memories to simply seep in. It’s going to feel weird at first and even slightly painful. The things you’re going to see and hear will be horrific and your mind is going to attempt to push them back out. Do not let that happen. You’re a strong woman, Aurora, and you’ll be fine,” he said slowly and carefully so I could not mistake his words. “We’re all right here to help you if you need it. Do you want some chocolate?” he inquired.

I cracked a nervous smile at that and shook my head. "I’m all good,“ I murmured quietly, sitting towards the center of the cage.

I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but I had to be. I had to remember everything.

"Are you ready?” 

I looked over at Remus and let out a shaky breath. Crossing my legs like a pretzel, I nodded towards him. He ever so gently tapped the orb with his wand and wisps of grey smoke made there way straight towards me, through the bars. I flinched unwillingly when the wisps floated around my head before entering through my forehead. I very vaguely heard Remus warn me to relax before I blacked out.  
“Mom!” I called out, running towards a tall woman with cascading lilac hair that was as soft as the wind itself.

“My girl,” she responded with such grace and giddiness that I giggled. 

I felt so loved and cared for with her arms wrapped around my small body that I honestly didn’t want her to let go. She lifted me up with minimal effort and twirled around, dress trailing after her. 

“How’s my Stella?”

I giggled at the nickname and hugged her even more tightly. “Great! Stefnir taught me how to write poems!” I answered excitedly.

“Excellent! You make sure to write and recite one for me, hm?” she chuckled lightly, brushing some of my own hair back behind my ear.

“Of course!” I giggled.  
“Princess, you can’t simply run off!” Stefnir called after me, but I just wasn’t hearing any of it.

I was running so hard. My breath was heavy, my chest and legs were burning. I was so upset! How could Stefnir yell at me like that? How could he?!  
I ran into the courtyard and straight to the edge. Sliding through a crack in the stone wall like it was muscle memory, I ran even further to a nearby ice cave, slipping on the way in and scraping my knee. The pain hissed at me , but I was set in my ways.

I’m never going back. Never!  
Suddenly, I heard footsteps echoing.

I called out in pain, collapsing forward and clutching my head. So much pain was coursing through my head; I was so sure it was going to explode.

“You need to relax!” Remus shouted, making my head hurt even worse.

I heard fabric tearing and wings unfurling. My wings. God now my entire body hurt. I couldn’t stop the transformation. I was transforming without my say so because my body thought I was being attacked.

“Get the fuck up!” snapped a burly man, kicking my back.

I gasped in pain, hitting my head against the bottle of the table. Back burning and head pounding, I climbed out from under the table quickly. I knew better than to waste his time.

“Get these fuckin’ dishes done, what the fuck are you doing?!” he shouted, shoving me roughly towards the filthy sink.

I quickly went to it. The water was bloody and disgusting, however my owner was a butcher and I figured it made sense. Then again, his temper was nasty and who knew what he was capable of.

“Too slow! I’d smack ya if ye weren’t unmarked already,” he snapped. “Should sell ya useless ass off. Bet I’d get a good prince on ya with such a pretty face,” he chuckled, large belly giggling.

“I like this one, Papa! She’s pretty, but not prettier than me!“ giggled a young girl, probably less than ten.

A tall man in a regal uniform sauntered over, long silver hair swaying passed the middle of his back. It was straighter than I’d ever seen before. His emerald eyes twinkled and he nodded lovingly down at his daughter.

“ Anything for you, pumpkin,” he told her, handing another man the desired amount.

This wasn’t my first time being sold off; not even my second, so I could guess how much he was paying. I was unscathed, skinny but not scrawny and looked young for my age. I was over a century old, however I looked similar to the young girl leading me out to their carriage. 

“These chains are stupid,” the girl mumbled, tugging on the chains that held my hands locked together. 

“We will remove them when we get home, dear,” the father said patiently, watching me carefully.

“Well, I’m going to name her Lilac because her hair is the same color,” she said excitedly.

“Do you speak, girl?”

“Lilac, Daddy!”  
“Sorry, Princess. Lilac,” he corrected, much more calmly than I could have expected.

“Yes sir.”  
Even transformed, my body didn’t think it was enough. Ice was being vomited every which way even though everyone was trying their hardest to keep it locked in with spells. I could feel a good majority of spells being reflected off my scales. I just wanted this to end.

Suddenly, I remembered what Remus said.

Relax. Just relax. So I did. I felt my muscles relax and instead of the memories pelting my head, they flowed in. I collapsed completely, feeling exhausted.  
“You sure she’s fit for fighting?” snorted a woman with a scar running across her entire face.  
“She’s an ice dragon shape-shifter,” another woman informed the other, this one much skinnier and clad in business attire. “You need to train her, though. She was a house servant for a century and a half.”  
“No wonder she’s so pretty,” she chuckled, turning my face this way and that. “I can’t wait for you to get your first scar. It always hurts the worse,” she snickered.  
The crowed was cheering my stage name: Ice Queen. Original, I know, but I didn’t care about that anymore. The only thing that mattered to me now was survival in the cages.

Chest heaving, shoulder dawning a deep gash, gushing blood, I stared down at the dead dragon in front of me. I put my hands behind me tiredly as per usual, allowing my caretaker to lock magical handcuffs on my wrists as well as put a magical muzzle on my face.

“You know that wound is going to cost you,” she muttered, shoving me out of the cage, then out to the side where I would wait for the next few matches to be over before I was actually looked at by a medic.

All I did as nod. No dinner for me tonight; although I was becoming used to it.  
When I opened my eyes, Molly was draping a soft blanket over me. I offered a small smile and started to sit up, however Molly tutted and laid me back down.

“You’ll be dizzy, dearie,” she murmured softly patting my shoulder.  
“I… remember everything,” I mumbled, eyes watering.

She paused for a moment, before nodding.

“You’ll be home soon, dear.”


	17. Freesia

I laid there for seemingly days, though in the back of my mind I knew it’d only been an hour. All these new memories were still rushing around inside my head, threatening to burst out and kill me. I couldn’t focus on any of the people moving about; couldn’t recognize faces, understand what they were saying or what they were doing. Not until I heard Charlie’s worried voice near me. Why hadn’t he come sooner? My eyes flickered and landed on his somewhat blurry form, red hair a mess. I had the urge to run my fingers through it; to brush it out until it couldn’t be any softer.

“How’s she doing, mom?” he murmured softly, one hand gripping his upper arm.

“All right… seems out of it, though,” Molly sighed. “There’s three hundred years worth of memories in her mind now, baby. She’s bound to be a bit tired and dazed.”

“Yeah, I guess… Mind if I sit with her for a moment?” he inquired, not taking his eyes off of me.

“Of course, honey,” she responded, letting him help her to stand before exiting the cage.

Charlie sat down, cross-legged and carefully adjusted the blanket to cover me more..

“Mum’s not too happy I’ll be riding a dragon,” he commented after a while, a small smile on his face. “Ron ‘n Ginny are thrilled though…”

I cracked a smile at that; at the thought of Ron and Ginny lighting up. Charlie’s smile broadened and he lightly pushed some hair out of my face.

“Figured that’d humor you,” he murmured. “You hungry?”

Slowly, I allowed myself to nod, hoping my head wouldn’t explode. Thankfully, no pain arose and I even tried to sit up again, with Charlie’s help. Still a little wobbly, I paused to regain my bearings.

“Uh h-hold on,” he sputtered, suddenly slipping his shirt off and holding up my blanket.

I didn’t understand at first, but then accepted the apparel and silently put it on. Though we were almost the same height, it was much larger on me. I didn’t mind. Gently, I wrapped the blanket around my waist when we stood.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, voice hoarse and throat dry. Must have screamed a lot.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Stefnir watching us, a barely hidden sneer on his face and it made my blood boil. I suddenly recalled what Charlie had told me about their deal and it made me want to show Stefnir that I knew the whole thing already, but I knew better. I had a plan to reveal what a snake he really was, but I couldn’t set it in motion until we arrived at my new home.

“Aurora… how are you feeling?” Remus inquired once her was near enough.

“Better…” I admitted. “I feel whole again and I’m sorry for worrying everyone.”

“Oh it’s all right, honey,” Molly chuckled. “It’s our job to worry about our children.”

I smiled lightly at that, though it quickly disappeared when Stefnir came over.

“Princess. I’m glad you’re okay. Tell us whenever you’re ready to leave.”

“Was planning on it,” I muttered, accepting my jeans from Tonks.

“I’m happy that everyone is okay, but I should head back to the Ministry to do the report,” Remus explained.

Sirius pat my back. “Molly’s prepared a feast, which you should partake in before you leave,” he commented.

“Of course. Thank you, everyone. Remus can’t you stay just a bit longer?” I inquired quietly, watching Tonks heading over with Teddy. 

“Oh I suppose a little longer wouldn’t hurt,” he chuckled lightly.

And there we were again: sitting at a picnic table with friends and family. Not feeling as tired or as dizzy anymore, my stomach was practically eating itself as I sat and watched the others eat. Suddenly, food was plopped on my plate and I looked over to see Charlie quirking a playful eyebrow at me. I smiled with appreciation. Now I understood my inability to take food for myself. Back when I was a cage fighter, if I ever found food for myself, lashings were certain. It was hard wired into my brain to wait until food was given to me or else consequences were severe. Remus had apparently figured this out early on and had done his best to combat this.

“So what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?” Molly inquired, grinning.

“I… I don’t know,” I admitted quietly after pondering the question.

“Well won’t you want to see your mum?” Tonks asked, feeding Teddy some mashed potatoes. 

“Should I? I… I wouldn’t know what to say,” I mumbled.

“Sometimes words aren’t needed, dear,” Molly chuckled softly.

I didn’t understand what she meant but simply nodded and continued eating.

“How are you feeling, love?” Molly inquired.

I flexed my winds wide, a little concerned due to the rocking of the boat.

“A little sea sick,” I admitted in a bit of a mumble, watching Charlie tie his luggage to my waist.

I shivered suddenly when he ran a hand over my belly. I shook my wings out at him, shooting a playful glare. He put his hands up placatingly, a small grin on his face.  
“Do you think she’ll recognize me?” I asked Molly, drawing her attention away from her son.

“Of course she will, Aurora!” she responded happily, patting my cheek. “She’s your mum.”

“Do you think I’ve got siblings?” I murmured watching Charlie go through his pack for the hundredth time.

“I can’t say for sure, but if you do, I’m sure they’ll be wonderful,” she responded gently. “Are you feeling well enough to fly?”

“I-I suppose, it’s just… been a long while,” I sighed, looking down at her. “Maybe I should do a test flight.”

“Brilliant idea, darling!” Molly exclaimed, clapping her hands together and stepping back. “Charlie, dear, what are you doing?”

“Saddling up?” he responded almost playfully, lifting himself up and over to rest on the custom made saddle that was latched onto my back.

“I’m not sure it’ll be safe,” I murmured worriedly.

“I trust you not to kill us both,” he snickered, clasping his seatbelt together. “All right, everyone! Aurora and I are doing a test flight so be careful!” Charlie called out to the other ship members.

A few of the other passengers made room, cautious of my broad wings and somewhat menacing looking tail. I was still very uncertain of Charlie joining me on this trial run, but I braced myself anyways, legs bent in a crouching position, wings outstretched. 

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Charlie asked, a hunt of teasing in his voice.

“Not really,” I chuckled lightly.

I focused all of my energy on my legs and wings. Please. I’d never flown before. Please let us be all right. Launching myself into the air, I surprised even myself at how far up we went. 

“Holy shit,” Charlie sputtered, tightening his hold on one of my spikes.

I would have laughed if I wasn’t just as frightened. Suddenly, as we started to descend, I remembered the whole point was to stay in the air. How? What was– my wings. Frantically, I started flapping my wings. It wasn’t working! I was still dropping!

“Calm down! Focus on a steady beat!” Charlie shouted, rubbing circles on my shoulder blades.

Catching breath, I closed my eyes. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1,2. 1,2. Where was the boat? I was expecting to hit the boat by now. Slowly opening my eyes, I glanced around. We were right above the boat with terrified passengers looking up at us. Suddenly, someone whooped and I saw Sirius with a large grin on his face.

I smiled in return and flew around in some circles around and above the boat before finally landing again. I hissed, having had stepped on a bucket. It went into my hand, dark purple blood dripping at an alarming pace on the boat.

“Oh no,” Charlie murmured, trying to quickly unbuckle himself and jump down, only to be unable to walk so he just crumpled down.

“Charlie?” I called out worriedly.

“I’m okay. Just a case of sea legs. But you!”

“Aurora, you need to change back,” Molly told me, two other people already practically ripping the saddle off. 

“R-Right,” I sputtered.

When I transformed back into a human, I felt my legs give out as well and I fell to the ground. Charlie, Sirius and Molly came over quickly, Molly taking a look at my hand carefully while Sirius covered me with a blanket. The bucket had fallen out of course, but there was still a pretty nasty wound on the palm of my hand.

“I am so sorry,” I apologized to one of the crew.

“No, no, it’s all right. We’re sorry for carelessly leaving that out,” he responded quickly. The poor boy looked as though he’d only just joined the crew and feared he had messed up royally.

Molly had done a healing spell, however it still needed to be wrapped.

“This bandage won’t grow with you,” Molly said, “But you should be set to fly in a couple hours,” she explained.

“Want to go get dressed?” Charlie inquired softly, hands on my shoulders.

“Dunno, can you walk?” I teased lightly.

“Oh ha, ha,” he snorted.

“Ah, well, I’m not sure I can walk either,” I mumbled, looking down at my legs with annoyance.

“That’s fine,” he responded with a small shrug.

Before I could reply, he lifted me up bridal style and carried me below deck. A deep blush rose to my cheeks as I tightened the blanket around me.

“Y-you really didn’t–”

“Oh shush. You better get used to this sort of treatment from people,” he commented, glancing down at me.

“And why’s that?” I inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

“Because you’re a princess,” he answered matter-of-factly. “You’ll be pampered and fussed over mercilessly.” 

“That sounds horrible,” I grumbled, shaking my head.

“And the servants won’t even be the worst part!”

“And what will?”

“Me,” he answered with a playful grin on his face.

After a moment, I reached up and poked his cheek. “You have really cute dimples,” I commented softly.

“I do believe that’s far enough, Mr. Weasley.”


	18. Stargazer

Chapter Eighteen: Stargazer

When retaining my memories, I thought a lot about my childhood, specifically events involving Stefnir. He was nosy, way over protective and followed me every where, even when he thought I wouldn't notice. I realized my plan was going to be a lot more difficult with him up my butt. When I dressed myself, after a hardened order for Stefnir to leave me alone, I exited my cabin and entered the deck once again. I smiled lightly upon seeing Charlie and started over, only to be stopped by the one and only douche-canoe. 

"I would like a moment alone with you, my lady," Stefnir requested softly. "I only wish to discuss some private matters with you," he added, probably having seen my look of blatant distrust.

"Fine," I finally permitted, moving off into a different part of the deck with him. "What is it?"

"It's about you needing a spouse," he answered upon deeming them solitary enough.

"A spouse?" I repeated, quirking an unamused and disbelieving eyebrow.

"Yes. I wanted to be the one to tell you before we had arrived and well... your mother is very ill," he sighed softly, glancing out at the ocean.

My heart stopped Ill? No. She can't be ill. I just got her back.

"What... what do you mean by ill?" I murmured so slowly I wasn't sure he'd understood me.

"That's why I've been searching for you, my princess. I mean we've all been searching for you, however--"

"What do you mean 'we'?" I interrupted quickly, wringing the hem of my shirt.

"The Royal Guard, of course, my dear. Especially Fortem--"

"Fortem? He was... son o the Head Guard, no?" I murmured, recalling a fuzzy memory of playing swords with him. He was the one to teach me to fight.

"Indeed. He is now Head Guard himself," Stefnir informed me. "Continuing on, your mother thinks very highly of him and would very much like you to marry him."

"I haven't seen him since we were children. You can't seriously expect me to make a decision so soon," I snorted, crossing my arms over my chest defiantly.

"Your mother could use some ease of mind before she passes," Stefnir responded softly.

That made me unfold my arms I hesitated, gaze falling to the floor in an attempt not to let him see my tears. What could I do? I didn't even know what condition my mother was in. I feared her too frail to hear the news about Charlie and myself and I only let out a shaky sigh. What if I never obtained her approval before she died? What if she hated me eternally for bringing shame to our family by marrying a human, let alone a wizard? No. I couldn't think like that. I haven't seen her in over three centuries. I only remembered he being the definition of love; I had to hold onto that or I would lose it.

"We will... see what happens," I mumbled quietly after clearing my throat. "Is that all?"

"No. I don't think Charlie should accompany us," he admitted, jaw rigid.

"And why's that?" I sighed, tired of him already.

"He's a human, Aurora. Not only that, he's a wizard. Need I remind you those are the very people who kidnapped you in the first place?"

"He's also the one who saved me-- Hold on... how... How did you know about them?" I inquired slowly, narrowing my eyes at him.

"It... was merely an educational guess, my princess," he said quickly, straightening his shirt. "Now if I may be excused, I must make sure the preparations for our departure have been finalized." With that, he went off in a huff.

I watched him go, before hurrying off to find Charlie. Once found, I explained to him what Stefnir had said.

"How could he have known they were wizards? I mean, he sounded absolutely sure," I grumbled, glancing over to see Stefnir angrily dealing with a crew member.

"Rory... Sweetie..." Charlie murmured, softly taking my hands in his own. "I'm so sorry."

I returned my gaze to meet his, green eyes filling with tears. I sucked in a breath at first, not realizing why he was so sad, but then it hit me. Hard. My mother was sick. I squeezed his hands more tightly that I had intended, shaking now. I knew how much family meant to Charlie and I felt my own eyes watering. I had no idea how much time my mother had.

"We need to leave immediately," I declared, lightly sniffing.

"Is that a good idea with your hand, Aurora?" Charlie asked, gently lifting my hands to inspect it.

"I need to do this, Charlie. I can't take the chance of missing her," I murmured softly, taking my hand back.

Charlie watched me for a solid minute before nodding.

"You have my word that we will meet your mother, Aurora," he promised, offering a grin. "Go transform and I'll get everything ready," he reassured, ruffling my hair.

I suddenly had the strong urge to kiss him, however resisted due to Stefnir watching us with an annoying intensity that was hard not to notice. Instead, I watched Charlie leave and head over to speak with his mother and Sirius, as well as the captain. They all seemed surprised and concerned, though didn't make a move to prevent me from transforming, so I did. I shook my wings out and sat down, moving my gaze towards Stefnir, who was running over to me. Not that he needed to go far.

"Princess?! What are you doing?! Your hand!" he exclaimed.

"We're leaving as soon as possible, so you should get ready, too, Stefnir," I answered calmly. "And my hand is fine."

He seemed unsure an even more annoyed at that point, but gave a stiff nod.

"As you wish, my princess," he responded, giving a low bow and taking a few steps back. "I will transform just before take off."

I merely nodded and looked back over to where the crew were now helping to prepare for our departure. Really all that needed to be done was finish packing and make sure Charlie was dressed very warmly. It was fairly amusing watching Charlie pull on all kinds of clothing. I laid down so I could rest my head on my forepaws in order to watch them a little more easily. However I had to sit up again so they could reattach the saddle and Charlie's luggage. I growled at the crew member who touched my belly by accident and I thought he might have peed himself if Charlie didn't put a hand on his shoulder.

"Now, now, Rory. No eating the crew," Charlie teased.

I just playfully rolled my eyes in response and lightly prodded Charlie's back with the tip of my tail. He chuckled lightly and pat my side.

"Looks like everything is packed and ready to go," Charlie commented, then turned to Molly, who seemed nervous.

"Are you sure you're ready?" she required, putting a hand on my forelegs.

"Yes, Molly," I answered, lightly nudging her with my nose. "I'll be sure to bring your son there in one piece," I promised.

"Oh, I know you will, dearie," she said softly, patting my cheek now. "It's this troublemaker I'm worried about."

"Ma!" Charlie exclaimed.

"It's true! The only child who hasn't been a trouble maker has been Percy and even then..."

"Okay, okay, ma," Charlie grumbled, cheeks burning.

"I'll make sure to keep him out of trouble, Molly," I chuckled quietly, nudging him as well, smiling happily.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," he responded, climbing up into the saddle, yet again. "Stefnir! Are you ready?"

"Of course," he answered, turning towards the side of the ship.

With a running start, he jumped off the side and into the water. The crew scrambled to the edge, shouting and calling , trying to see where had had gone. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was a tad concerned for all of half a minute, when I remembered what he was. Out of the water he burst, gold and black with silver dusting. The water rushed off of him, droplets clinging to his scales. It was really a marvelous sight, had one not known his true being. I scoffed at the show and turned to watch Molly take a breath of relief.

"Molly..."

"I know, dearie, I know," she sighed softly, shaking her head.

"Do we fly or not?" Stefnir inquired impatiently, hovering above the water.

"Yes, yes," I answered. "Charlie--"

"I know, he murmured. "Mom, I promise to keep in touch, but we should really be leaving."

"Okay, okay," she murmured. "I love you, Charlie, Rory. Now, off you go now. Be royalty and live your fancy life." 

"Molly..." You know I'll keep in touch as well," I chuckled softly. 

"I know, my dear."

She lightly pat my arm one last time before I lifted off into the air.

"Here we go," Charlie breathed.

"Here we go," I repeated.


	19. Peony

Chapter Nineteen:

"You know," Charlie shouted, "I knew it was going to be cold but oh my God this is ridiculous!"  
I chuckled lightly. True that it was cold, however I couldn't even imagine what Charlie must have been feeling. I quite enjoyed the chilly winds and although I tried to avoid going through any clouds, I secretly enjoyed when we did.  
"Are you doing to make it?" I teased.  
"Probably not!" he laughed, leaning down further so that my head was shielding his own from the unforgiving winds.  
"We could always just leave him in some town," Stefnir suggested, showing up somewhat sudenly from the clouds.  
I cast him an annoye growl and he slipped back amongst the white masses. I despised even looking at him, let alone hearing him speak. I had no doubt in my mind that he'd be seen as a hero when we returned, but I surely wouldn't hesitate to reveal his true nature. As soon as I thought my mother could handle the news about Charlie and myself, I wanted to tell her everytinh. Then again... how could I know if she'd ever be capable of hearing such news? If Stefnir had been feeding my people sickly lies of how the wizarding community is, how could I know how any of them would react? I remember so little of how our monarchy system worked that I wish I had paid more attention during Stefnir's lessons.  
"Earth to Rory!" Charlie shouted, making my ears ring.  
"I'd like to gingerly point out that my ear is very close to your head," I grumbled.  
"Oops, sorry," he apologized, lightly rubbed my beck. "But how much longer do you think it'll be?"  
"I have no idea...." I sighed quietly. "Stefnir! How much longer!?"  
"Not too much longer, my Princess," he responded from somewhere to my left.  
I glanced back at Charlie who shrugged and bundled down closer to me. Poor guy. He's flown brooms this high, I'm sure, but we're somewhat slower than them.  
"Our village is coming into view, my princess!" Stefnir called out.  
I squinted, then gasped. Through the clouds was revealed a large castle, surrounded by many houses, also quite large. The closer we came to the village, the more people I coul see. There had to be hundreds of people down below. Several dragon were flying around, too. And everything was covered in glittering ice and snow. Suddenly, we were stopped by two dragons; one a brillant ruby with gold, the other emerald with silver accents.   
"Stefnir?" questioned the ruby one, seeming quite surprise.  
"Who's this?" the green one inquired, staring at me with unease and the smallest amount of hope.  
"Pelakt, Tepprom, this is our princess, Aurora," Stefnir answered, a hunt of smugness in his voice.  
"Our..." Pelakt trailed off, turning his gaze to me now.  
"A thousand pardons, your majesty," Tepprom sputtered, dipping his head low with Pelakt following suit. "The Queen will be pleased."  
Without responding, I followed the other three down into the castle, landinging in what looked like a court yard. Now that we were in it, the castle was much larger than I had originally anticipated. Several doors lead into the castle itself, but I turned my attention back to the others. When they transformed back, they had clothes! It baffled me and suddenly I wondered if I could do that.  
"My princess?" Pelakt inquired, looking over at me curiously. "Why aren't you changing?"  
"She never had the chance to learn how to transform with clothes," Stefnir explained. "Your highness, pardon them. There is an area over here for you to transform without prying eyes," he informed me, motioning to a large blocked off area.  
I started towards it, but then Stefnir called out my name as the other two started growling. I instantly remembered Charlie and whipped around, growling right back at them with a furocity I didn't realize I had.  
"Gentlemen, please! This young man is a guest of the princess. Show some respect!" Stefnir snapped.  
Tepprom and Pelakt stopped growling, their talons shrinking down to regular fingernails, though they still seemed very displeased. I knelt down so that Charlie could slide off and unlatch the saddle and his bags. He seemed more relax than I expected, though I suppose he'd been training and studying dragons for several years. He offered me a reassuring smile, his hand on my arm.  
"Let's not keep the public waiting, hm?" he said almost teasingly.  
I glanced up at the other three, giving them a warning glare before heading over to the barred off area. I quickly transformed and slid on a ress that Charlie handed me without looking. When I came back out, the two guards looked shocked.  
"It really is you," Tepprom said, carefulling moving closer.  
"An you really don't remember us, do you?" Pelakt inquired, a deep frown creasing his face as he, too, made his way over.  
I shook my head. There was a very vague memory about a couple of green and red haired boys, but nothing concrete was coming to mind. Tepprom turned his attention towards Charlie now, clearly uneasy around him. Charlie casually held out his hand to him, offering a smile. Tepprom, however, didn't seem to understand the gesture, so Charlie quickly dropped his hand.  
"Where's my mom?" I asked, unable to contain myself.  
"Right, of course you'd want to see the Queen," Pelakt said quickly, motioning for us to follow him.  
It took a little while to actually arrive at her room, but when we did, Pelakt suddenly turned to Stefnir, who snarled lowly.  
"I've one what she asked of me already."  
When met with a raised eyebrow, he only grumbled and left. Confused, I looked at Tepprom who could only sigh.  
"There's been talk, but we can get to that later. Focus on your mother for now," he murmured in a shushed tone.  
I wanted to ask more, but Pelakt was already opening the door. The scent of iris flowers filled my nose and tears were starting to well up in my eyes. It took my legs a moment to remember how to move, but the moment I heard her say my name, I ran to her side. She wasn't nearly as vibrant as in my memories, but there was still such an ethereal air to her that it easily took one's breath away. She was clearly going blind, but the luster couldn't be stolen from her eyes.  
I tentatively sat on the bed and looked at her for such a long moment, just as she was staring at me.  
"My word, you resemble your father."  
When she spoke, her voice broke towards the end and the tears fall freely onto my face. I had little to no memories of my father, but I foun myself believing her. She pulled me close to her suddenly in a hug so tight one would think she wasn't sick at all. We stayed like that for who knows how long until she finally, reluctantly, let me go.  
"My dear," she started, turning now to Charlie, who bowed deeply. "Who have we here?"  
"My name is Charlie Weasley, your Majesty," he spoke softly, though confidently. "I hope my prescence isn't offensive."  
I was mildly surprised by how formally he was speaking, but I was even more surprised when my mother started laughing. I turned my attention back to her as she lightly wiped her eyes.  
"Child, if my aughter trusts and likes you enough to allow access to her back, then you will not cause upset in my presence," she responded calmly, smiling.  
I felt relieved to hear her say that.  
"My Queen, I hate to intrude, however would you like to proceed with the ball plans?" Tepprom ventured carefully, pulling everyone's attention back to them.  
"Yes, of course," she answered. "Why don't you show Charlie to his room and help him dress, hm? I would like to spend some alone time with my baby," she explained turning back to me with a smile.  
I felt unsure leaving Charlie, but when he just grinned at me, I couldn't help but feel better and smile back. I watched him leave before my mother scooched over, allowing me to climb further onto the bed with her. Resting my head on her chest, she gently ran her fingers through my hair.  
After a few moments of her silently running her fingers through my hair, she let out a long sigh. "There are so many political topics we must discuss, however... I feel a deep and heavy sorrow in your heart. Please, tell me where you have been all this time," she requested almost pleadingly.  
I hesitated. How much of my tale could my mother withstand? She didn't seem nearly as ill as Stefnir made her out to be, although I had a feeling it was a mask. I couldn't simply sit in silence, so I told her bits and pieces, broad memories and few words.   
"A slave?" she gasped softly, her hand ceasing movement.  
I nodded silently, my throat constricting. To speak of even the vague memories aloud caused my heart to ache and sorrow to grip me.  
"My baby," my mother cooed, lifting my face gently by my chin. "You will never be a slave again, but instead a mighty Queen, yes? We are dragons and we roar," she told me, voice strong and steady.  
I nodded once more and she kissed my forehead. I felt such admiration at that moment for my mother. She'd been ruling our people for so long so alone and as much as it crushed me to not have my father with us, I knew my mother could withstand the weight of the village on her shoulders. I realized then how much responsibility I had to the village and my mother and it was already somewhat crippling.  
"No, no. No time for fear in your heart, my dear. I have a limited amount of time to teach you everything I know before you become Queen. So, after the ball tonight we will work hard, yes?"  
I offered a small smile and leaned into the hand that caressed my cheek. My confidence boosted at her words, however I still felt fear sinking in. Suddenly, my mother clapped her hands and several maids entered the room. I flinched, still not used to the strong aura that my kind possessed, however my mother placed a reassuring hand on my back.  
"Fear not, my girl. Our people will never seek to harm you," she reassured. "Well, people in our village. Now it's time to start readying ourselves for the Ball."  
I watched as she climbed out of her bed and shed her nightgown. A tad embarrassed, I averted my eyes but not before seeing the long scar running from her collarbone to her belly button. I wanted to ask, but kept silent and waited until she was at least somewhat clothed.  
"Not only is tonight's Ball in your honor and celebration of your safe return, but it is also a chance for you to chose a spouse," she informed me calmly, letting the maids fuss with her hair, which hit the floor when undone from it's bun.  
"A spouse?" I repeated, anxiety starting to build in my chest.  
"Yes, I don't care the gender, however I have a select few I would like you to consider. Of course, Fortem is amongst them and my favorite," she added, offering a playful smile. "But of course you probably don't remember him very well, do you?" she inquired softly and sighing when I shrugged. "Well he's grown to be a fine man. Now, please, do stand my girl? Our people will be sure to show up any time soon."


End file.
